


The Goddess of Heroes

by IWantColouredRain



Series: The Goddess of Heroes [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-03-09 01:35:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 48,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13470933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IWantColouredRain/pseuds/IWantColouredRain
Summary: In the days of Ancient Greece, one demigod rose above all the rest. As reward for her deeds she was made Goddess of Heroes, Loyalty, Bravery and Strength. The Romans called her Valeria but to the Greeks, she has always been Akantha. (Fem!Goddess!Percy!)





	1. Chapter 1

Akantha, Goddess of Heroes, Loyalty, Bravery and Strength, was born the daughter of a servant girl and Poseidon, God of the Sea in Sparta, twelve years before the Battle of Thermopylae. When Leonidas and his army marched to war, she disguised herself as a man and followed. She was the only survivor and after she had many adventures. 

Many fights later attributed to male demigods were in fact Akantha's victories. And, as a reward for her service, Akantha was made into a goddess as she lay dying from the wounds she had received wounds from Porphyrion, the king of the Giants. She was the only one Zeus completely trusted, for she was physically incapable of being disloyal. She was also the only deity able to openly aid demigods as they were within her domain. And, unlike other demigods turned gods, Akantha never forgot what it was like to be a half-blood. The Romans named her Valeria. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

___January 15th, 2001_

 

Thalia had been walking for hours by the time the sun finally set and she sat down in an alley to rest. _'Jason is dead. Mom killed him. Jason is dead,'_ circled around in her head. It didn't seem real somehow, especially without a body. How could her innocent baby brother be dead? Beryl should have been the one to die instead. Beryl had been the one to sleep with Zeus, Jason shouldn't have had to pay for being born. "It's not fair!" She burst out suddenly. "Why him and not me? He was just a baby! Godsdamnit!" She found herself sobbing hysterically for the millionth time in the past two days since she'd come back from the car to find Beryl crying and Jason gone. 

"Oh, my dear," a voice said sadly and Thalia's head snapped up. "I know it's not fair. Unfortunately, the life of a half-blood rarely is." The woman looked like she was in her early twenties. She had long raven hair that cascaded down her back in corkscrew curls. She had sun-kissed skin, features like an Ancient Greek statue and ocean green eyes. She was dressed in jeans and a lilac blouse with Greek sandals on her feet. Usually strangers made Thalia uneasy, especially if they knew her heritage. It typically meant that they were monsters about to try and kill her. Something about this woman made Thalia feel safe though. 

"Who are you?" Thalia asked after a moment. The woman has remained silent while Thalia was assessing her but now she moved forward crouching beside the daughter of Zeus. 

"I am Akantha," she said. "Lord Zeus sent me to help you." This wasn't quite true, Zeus couldn't directly tell her to help his daughter but he had mentioned his daughter offhandedly to her and Akantha had known what he wanted. The goddess almost always claimed that the parent of the child had outright sent her, it helped them to feel their parents cared. 

Thalia scowled however, wiping her eyes stubbornly. "If either of you wanted to help you should have come two days ago when Jason was-" she cut herself off, unable to continue. 

Akantha looked at her sympathetically. She knew well the pain of loss. If not for the rules segregating the two sets of demigods, Akantha would have told Thalia that her brother lived. But the memories of the wars between the two weighed heavily on her mind, Akantha had suffered the most from their enmity, her domains were badly damaged. She would not risk another civil war and if Thalia knew that Jason lived, she would stop at nothing to find him. 

"I am sorry for your loss, young hero," Akantha told her instead. "And Lord Zeus grieves for his son as well, I assure you. He sent me to ensure he would not have to grieve for his daughter also." 

Thalia cast her gaze downward for a moment before looking back at Akantha again. "Okay so how are you supposed to help me then?" 

Akantha waved her hand and a backpack and a mace canister appeared in front of them. Thalia yelped in surprise looking back up at the woman in front of her in realization. 

"You're a goddess," she breathed. Akantha nodded, smiling gently. 

"I am the Goddess of Heroes, Loyalty, Bravery and Strength," she explained. "As a demigod, you are under my domain and so the Ancient Laws allow me more leeway then the rest of the gods. Now, in your backpack you have food, a water bottle that will automatically refill itself, a Swiss army knife, a compass, some money, clothes and a book of Greek tales. It's really an encyclopedia I suppose. In it you will be able to find a description of almost every monster and a weakness of theirs too. It's written in Greek so your dyslexia won't hinder you." Thalia nodded, wide-eyed. 

"This canister serves a dual purpose," continued Akantha, picking it up to show the young girl. "It works as a regular pepper spray against mortals but will never run out. There are more than just supernatural threats out there, especially to girls." Thalia looked shaken as she nodded. "But it also turns into a spear for fighting monsters." Akantha demonstrated how to transform the canister into the spear and back again before handing it to Thalia who clutched it tightly. The goddess stood and Thalia scrambled to her feet as well. 

"The last thing I have for you is some advice. Go to Charleston. There's a dragon lair there. If you decide to go there, you will gain something more valuable any gift I have given you." Then she moved closer and wrapped the girl in the gentle hug. Thalia stiffened for a moment before relaxing into the goddess's embrace. If was more comforting and loving then any hug Beryl had ever given her. 

"Your path is long and hard, young one," Akantha whispered in her ear. "But I swear, there will be things that make all the grief worth it." She stepped back. "It may not always be obvious, but we are always listening and we always answer in some way." She began to glow and Thalia snapped her eyes shut, remembering when Zeus had been around and done the same thing. When the nine year old opened her eyes, Akantha was gone. 

 

_Olympus_

Akantha knocked on the door and waited for Zeus' permission to push it open. The large door was decorated with elaborate scenes of Zeus' various heroic acts. 

Some people thought it was strange that the Lord of the Skies was so fond of his brother's daughter. But for several reasons, Zeus trusted Akantha more than anyone else. 

Akantha had been raised to revere the gods and she had never had the flaw of arrogance that so many of her peers had borne. She had been respectful from the start, going so far as to swear eternal loyalty to the Gods on the River Styx while still a mortal. As well as that, she was the goddess of loyalty. Being disloyal was impossible for her to do. Before the coup, Zeus had not been so paranoid or distrusting, and Akantha had been the one to find and release him. Despite her loyalty to Zeus however, Akantha had a close relationship with her father. 

Akantha entered Zeus' chambers, ignoring the ostentatious décor. "My king," she bowed to him and he nodded in reply. 

"Well?" He asked and she smiled. 

"She is going to be one of your greatest children I believe." Akantha said. "Even if she is not the Prophecy Child, she has great strength and a good character. She will do well I believe. I sent her in the direction of a runaway son of Hermes. They will make an excellent team I believe." Zeus nodded before shifting into Jupiter. Akantha changed to Valeria in response. 

"What of my son?" Jupiter boomed. "Have you assessed him yet?" 

Valeria pursed her lips. There was little difference in either of their appearances. Jupiter looked older, sterner and was dressed in a formal toga with a purple cape and a laurel crown resting on his salt and pepper hair. His features were of course Roman instead of Greek. 

Valeria also had Roman feature and her eyes were more blue then green. She was dressed in a knee-length toga with a breastplate of Imperial Gold and had an Imperial Gold gladius attached to her belt. A purple stola rested on her arms. 

"He is young still," she considered the boy thoughtfully. "But I believe that with time and tutelage from Lupa, he will grow to be a strong leader for the Legion." Jupiter nodded looking satisfied. 

"You may go," he dismissed her. "As always, your loyalty is beyond question." Valeria bowed and disappeared. She went to her current lover's apartment. The goddess had less children then most deities, but she was strongly attracted to people with kind, loyal personalities. Her current lover, Thaddeus Michaels, was one such man.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

A glow appeared in the chambers of Poseidon's Atlantian palace belonging to the Lady Akantha. It quickly formed into the goddess herself and as soon as she appeared she left the room, heading to her father's throne room.

She passed various servants and courtiers, all doing their best to avoid the Sea God's wrath.

"Lady Akantha," Delphin chirped as he swam up beside her. She nodded to him in greeting. "We did not expect you."

Akantha didn't blame him for being surprised. She hardly ever risked encountering her father's wife and children. It rarely ended well. Today it couldn't be helped however. "How is my father?" She asked him. "Will he speak with me?" Delphin hesitated.

"He rarely refuses you," Delphin answered diplomatically. Akantha gave a tense smile at this. That was Delphin's way of saying that Poseidon would see her, but it wasn't likely that he would hear her. Akantha didn't reply to him however, as they had arrived at the throne room. Delphin swam ahead to announce her.

"The Lady Akantha, Goddess of Heroes, Loyalty, Bravery and Strength!"

Akantha hid a grimace when she entered. Both Amphitrite and Triton were just leaving as she arrived. Akantha had a cordial relationship with Kympoleia but that was it. It was a known fact that Amphitrite, Triton and Rhode had always hated her, even before she became a goddess.

"Daughter," Poseidon greeted her with a curt nod. Akantha knew instantly that he wouldn't listen to her pleas. He was too furious at the insult to his honour and no doubt Triton had been stoking his anger. She had to try though.

"My Lord," she said, giving a deeper then needed curtsy to hopefully soften him. "I would like to speak to you."

"We have spoken already, Daughter." Poseidon's voice was cold. "I will not change my mind. Zeus will either issue an apology by the Winter Solstice or there will be war."

"But Father you know he will not do so!" Akantha exclaimed. She cut herself off to make herself calm down. Poseidon would definitely not listen if she got frustrated. "Lord Zeus will never do what he considers lowering himself by admitting he was wrong. If you would just-" he cut her off.

"My honour has never been so insulted!" He boomed. Despite herself, Akantha flinched at the sight of her father's rage. "Zeus has made outrageous insults before but this! To call me a thief! I will not stand for it! No, Akantha, Zeus will apologize or it will be war."

Akantha felt her shoulders slip. But, she still had her trump card to play. "If the Master Bolt is returned and the true thief revealed by the Solstice, will that suffice to stop the war declaration?" Poseidon gave her a stony frown but nodded.

"Should Zeus admit that I am not a thief, I will accept it in lieu of an outright apology," the God agreed after a moment and Akantha sighed slightly in relief. "You may go," he dismissed and Akantha curtsied again to avoid him seeing her hurt at the coldness he gave her. As she began to change into her true form, she heard callout to her. "I hope you know what you're doing Akantha." Her surroundings changed from the under seas palace to the simple marble columns of her Olympian chambers.

Akantha sighed as she appeared in the temple. She hoped she knew what she was doing as well. She was Goddess of Loyalty, she was loyal to both her father as her father and to Zeus as her king. She didn't know what she would do if her plan failed and she feared what would happen to her children if war began. War between immortals was never anything less an apocalypse. Akantha knew for a fact that outright war between any of the Elder Three would be more catastrophic then a dozen atomic bombs.

Akantha remembered the Gigantomachy vividly. She closed her eyes and felt herself return to Greece, millennia ago. To when she was a mortal sixteen-year-old, battling the Giants alongside her Gods and comrades.

_The earth trembled from the combined force of Gaea and the battling immortals. Akantha took cover with some of the others near the wreckage of what might once have been a building to catch their breath and regroup._

__

__

_"What now?" Alexandra, a daughter of Ares asked Akantha's husband. Adrianna, Apollo's daughter was working to heal her injured shoulder. Her bowstring was broken and her quiver empty. Alexandra's spear was shattered as well. Lysander frowned grimly._

_"I'm not sure." The son of Athena admitted. "Heracles and Adrastus are both dead. Elias lost his leg and Agapios is missing."_

_The rest of the group exchanged grim looks. They had brought the thirteen strongest demigods currently alive to face the Gigantes. Of the thirteen enemies, the Twin Giants, Polybotes, Alcyoneus, Periboia and Orion had been defeated. Six of the thirteen._

_But they had been fighting non-stop for almost two days. Everyone had reached their tolerance for ambrosia and nectar and the loss of their fellows, especially Heracles, disliked though he may have been, were great blows to the groups' morale. Even as they watched, Akantha spotted Clytius fall at the hands of Hecate and her son, Silas, only for Silas to collapse seconds later from his injuries. Cletus, Hephaestus' son was battling Mimas alongside his father and Bernadine, Artemis' Lieutenant was firing arrows at Thoon alongside her mistress. Kalika and her father, Hermes were struggling against Hippolytus._

_Her gaze turned to where she could Lord Zeus fighting Porphyrion with his surviving son, Damianos. Porphyrion and Enceladus were the greatest threats left. If they could be defeated the others would be demoralized and more easily defeated. She set her jaw in detemination, turning to her husband._

_"Akantha?" He asked her worriedly and she took a moment to memorize his face and voice._

_"I will see you in Elysium, my love," she told him, pressing their lips together. "The gods truly blessed me, to give us our time together. Make sure our son knows I love him." Then, before he could try and stop her, she raced away, towards where the kings fought. Damianos was lying on the ground and Akantha knew it was fatal. She threw herself into the battle beside the Lord of the Skies, thankful they were fighting on the coast._

_Even after she became an immortal, Akantha was never able to clearly recall the fight. Only the sound of clashing weapons and yelling. And the pain as Porphyrion's weapon pierced her stomach, even as she stabbed his leg and Zeus hit him with a blast of lightning. She never forgot that. Nor did she forget Lysander's griefstricken face leaning over her as her world turned to black._

As she returned to the present, Akantha opened her eyes and set her jaw. No, not another war. Akantha would do whatever necessary to ensure that peace was kept between the Olympians. She could never allow another Giant or Trojan War to occur. She defintely couldn't let her three living children, thirteen-year-old Roman Claudia and the ten-year-old Greek twins Lukas and Lena, to be caught in the crossfire. Concentrating she flashed to Camp Half-Blood to order a quest. War had to be prevented.


	3. Chapter 3

When the rain started after the campfire, everyone in Camp Half-Blood froze in shock. Thalia, who had been relaxing with her best friends Luke, Annabeth and Grover, was equally stunned.

"Is it _raining_?" She demanded incredulously. "In Camp?" Luke nodded. He then broke out of his shocked state and scrambled to his feet.

"Come on," he ordered, pulling ten-year-old Annabeth up. "We need to get inside." Thalia nodded and they all rushed to their various cabins. (Or wherever it was that Grover went for sleeping and stuff like that.)

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thalia grimaced slightly as she entered Cabin One. The 'Greeting Room' with its marble columns and the elaborate, scowling statute of her father, always intimidated her, even after two years of living there. Thankfully, the actual bedroom wasn't so stressful to be in.

It reflected the sky outside, with a window that looked out over the archery court, three four-poster beds with soft navy duvets and drapes, and a matching oak dresser, nightstand and bookshelf for each bed. It was an en-suite and the large bathroom had two of everything. Sometimes Thalia looked around her cabin and felt a surge of depression and loneliness. Her's was one of three matching rooms for girls and there were three rooms for boys as well. It was obvious that the Cabin was meant to be full and Thalia often thought of Jason and how he would have been living with her if he hadn't died. She shook the thoughts away and prepared for bed, falling into a fitful sleep almost immediately.

_She was on a beach, with a heavy storm raging all around her. In the distance, she could see two men in Greek chitons wrestling with each other._

_"Give it back! Give it back!" The man dressed in blue yelled, like they were little boys arguing over a toy._

_"Stop! Stop please!" Someone else called desperately and Thalia saw a woman dressed in a silver chiton calling frantically. "Stop it please! You must stop it!" Those words Thalia realized, were aimed at her. The woman wanted her to stop them men fighting. But before Thalia could try and do anything a loud banging woke her up._

Thalia jolted upright, shaking and gasping as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and made her way through the cabin on autopilot to where she could hear the frantic knocking coming from the entrance. Vaguely she wondered if there was some spell on the cabin to let noise travel easily. She was distracted from her ADHD-influenced thoughts by the sight of Grover, wild-eyed and frantic, words tumbling out of him incoherently.

"Woah Grove," Thalia said, raising her hands and patting the air to try and calm him down. "What's wrong?"

Grover gasped, leaning on the doorway. "You need, go to, Big House, now." Thalia raised an eyebrow in bemusement but nodded.

"Okay, I'll just go get changed-"

"No!" Grover insisted. "Now!"

"I can't go to the Big House in my pjs," Thalia reasoned, beginning to feel irritated as sparks danced on her fingertips. Before Grover could try and protest anymore, she slammed the door and hurried to pull on some clothes. Fifteen minutes later she was hurrying around the porch. As she arrived at the area where Chiron could typically be found, she froze in surprise at the sight of Lady Akantha holding a cup of something and wearing a solemn expression on her face. Thalia hurried to bow, despite her dislike of doing so for anyone.

"Do not bow to me, Thalia," Akantha told her calmly. "I have no use for such things though I advise you to always bow for my fellows. They need it to keep their egos stroked. Sit please." Thalia had snickered at the egos comment and was thankful no one had mentioned it as she hurried to sit in the indicated chair.

"Does this have anything to do with why it was raining earlier?" Thalia asked hesitantly and Akantha let out a sigh, putting down her cup.

"Yes," she admitted bluntly "It does. Chiron told me that you are unaware of the details of what happened at the Summer Solstice?"

Thalia nodded hesitantly. "I know something happened because of how everyone's been acting lately but no one knows what."

Akantha looked tired as she began explaining. "Lord Zeus always leaves his Master Bolt in its scabbard on his throne while he goes to enjoy the party. Last Solstice, he did so as usual but upon his return, it was gone." Thalia gasped in shock.

"How?" Was all she managed to croak out and Akantha shrugged.

"The only certainty is that it could not have been a god," she explained grimly. "We cannot touch each others' symbols of power. Still Lord Zeus blames my father. Father of course, is highly insulted by the accusation and has demanded an apology. Both of them have given the Winter Solstice as a deadline. The council has split in half. Athena, Hera, and Dionysus are backing Zeus, the Twins, Aphrodite and Ares are with my father. Demeter, Hermes and Hephaestus are staying neutral for the moment. If the Master Bolt is not returned and the true thief discovered by that date, it will be war."

Thalia could barely breathe. "You want me to find it don't you?" She managed to guess. "That's why you're here, to give me a quest."

Akantha nodded solemnly. "I am sorry to do so." She said truthfully. "But it is urgent that the Master Bolt be returned by the Solstice. We will all suffer if it is not." Thalia nodded shakily.

"Okay," the daughter of Zeus said. "So what do I have to do?"

Chiron spoke up for the first time since Thalia had arrived. He looked graver then she had ever seen him. "Go to the attic and consult with the Oracle. She will reveal what needs to be done."

Thalia climbed the steps to the attic with a sick feeling in her stomach. The attic itself was full of miscellaneous objects. Thalia saw old armor, old leather steamer trunks with stickers saying things like ITHAKA, CIRCE'S ISLE and LAND OF THE AMAZONS. One table was stacked with severed claws, huge yellow eyes and various other spoils. A dusty mounted trophy on the wall looked like a giant snake's head but with horns and a full set of shark teeth. The plaque read: HYDRA HEAD NO. I, WOODSTOCK, NY, 1969. The whole place smelt of reptiles.

By the window was the most gruesome relic of all, a mummy. The Oracle of Delphi, why she had refused to leave her old body no one knew but she remained the dried out husk of a girl. It was beyond disturbing when she turned to look at Thalia with empty eye-sockets.

_"I am the Oracle of Delphi_ ," she rasped out and Thalia shuddered. _"Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, Slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker and ask."_

Thalia forced herself forward. "How do I find my father's bolt?" She managed to stammer out. She gasped when the green mist formed the figures of Chiron, Luke, Annabeth and Grover, seated at the porch table. Each of them spoke a line, starting with Chiron.

_"Four shall go west, and face the god who has turned._

_You shall find what is stolen and see it safely returned._

_You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend._

_And his rise will begin, in the end."_

Thalia never could remember how she got back to the porch from the attic, or ended up sitting down with Chiron rubbing her back and Akantha crouched in front of her, helping her to drink a glass of water.

"It's difficult to meet with the Oracle," the goddess said sympathetically. "It always has been and it's only gotten worse since she has refused to leave her old host."

"Why hasn't she?" Thalia asked as she began to regain control of herself. Akantha shrugged.

"Maybe she's comfortable," she suggested. " But that's not important right now. What did she tell you?"

Thalia hesitated but told them the first two and fourth lines. The two immortals looked troubled.

"That's all?" Chiron asked and Thalia nodded. She couldn't believe that one of her friends would betray her so she stubbornly ignored that part of the prophecy. "Well then you need to choose your companions. I don't like the thought of having more than three questers but if the prophecy requires it I suppose we can't do anything else."

"There's a precedent," Akantha reminded him. For a moment she thought back to her days as a mortal, adventuring with her husband Lysander and their various friends. "Who will you take?"

Thalia didn't hesitate. "Luke, Annabeth and Grover."


	4. Chapter 4

"Is it true?" Lupa asked her old friend in a low voice as she and Valeria walked through the Wolf House. It was the first time that they'd seen each other in half-a-year and Lupa, who spent most of her time training half-bloods, had not yet been able to confirm the rumors of the theft. Though Jupiter and Neptune's mutual fury was obvious. Valeria nodded solemnly.

"It's true," she confirmed. "I've been searching almost constantly along with Diana and her huntresses, Apollo, Mars and Bellona. Our Greek forms are searching too. None of us have found a hint." She shook her head in frustration. "I don't understand it! The Master Bolt radiates power. _One_ of us at least should have found it easily."

Lupa growled unhappily. "Have you any suspicions as to the thief's identity?"

Valeria hesitated. She was reluctant to make accusations but a dark suspicion had taken root in her mind. "All the Olympians seem to suspect each other," she finally said and Lupa frowned at her.

"That implies that you do not," she observed. "But who else other than a god would dare to do such a thing?"

Valeria looked at her seriously. "I must have an oath of silence before I reveal my suspicions," she said and Lupa's eyes widened. She bowed her head and swore on the spirit of Eternal Rome to only speak of the subject with Valeria's permission. The goddess sighed and admitted her fears.

"I think a Titan may have escaped," Lupa gasped in shock but Valeria hurried on before she could say anything. "There are precedents as you know. When I was a mortal, Iapetus escaped. I fought him before Ares arrived and defeated him. And Atlas has also gotten out several times before. Hyperion last reformed only six centuries ago."

"That is all true," Lupa acknowledged. "But they have never dared to do something that so directly attacks Olympus before. And they too are bound by the Ancient Laws. They could not have taken the Bolt themselves."

Valeria looked away with a deep frown for a moment before she admitted something that was very dangerous. "I have felt, disturbances, within my domains." Lupa looked at her in confusion. "Someone's loyalty has transferred from the gods. I sense that they are a Greek demigod, but not who and not to where they are now loyal."

Lupa nostrils flared. "Impossible!" The wolf growled. "How could such a thing happen?"

"It could only happen if a deity were deliberately hiding it from me," Valeria explained. "To do so they would have to be a stronger deity then me. And usually I would be able to recognize the deity who did so after focusing for a while. Yet despite noticing this almost a year ago, I still don't know who it is."

Lupa was becoming increasingly disturbed by the conversation. Despite Valeria's status as a minor god, she was more powerful than most of the gods on the Olympian Council. As a twelve-year-old demigod, she had fought Ares to a standstill. But Jupiter was still Jupiter and he wasn't willing to supplant any of his children for a newly created godly daughter of his brother by adding her to the Council. After all these years though, Lupa wouldn't be surprised if Jupiter would prefer the Goddess of Loyalty as a councilor to any of his own children.

But the fact that Valeria couldn't figure out who was cloaking the traitor demigod from her was very bad. It definitely made a Titan the most likely suspect.

"Have you spoken to anyone else regarding this?"

Valeria shook her head. "That there is a demigod who no longer loyal to us yes, but that would have been obvious anyway from the theft. That I fear the involvement of a Titan, I dare not speak of it. I don't know who to speak of it to. You know Jupiter's temper. For all we know, he may just decide to destroy both camps and be done with it."

Lupa didn't answer. It was definitely a very possible scenario, especially from Zeus. The traitor would have to be unveiled and brought to Olympus before they could do anymore damage. It was the only acceptable solution.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

While her Roman form was with Lupa, Akantha was monitoring the quest. It was not going well. The four had been attacked by the Kindly Ones within an hour of leaving Camp and been forced to flee without their supplies after destroying the bus in the ensuing fight. Now they were eating at 'Aunty Em's' aka Medusa's 'Garden Gnome Emporium'.

Akantha scowled at her old enemy. Briefly she remembered when she was twelve and she killed her, only for Perseus to be given the credit. That irritated her a lot. It wasn't even chronologically possible! Perseus had already been well dead by then. He had only killed Medusa's younger sister Stheno and she was an idiot. Akantha had killed Medusa and Euryale both. She shook away the old irritation and focused.

_'Something is wrong here,''Why is she looking at Annabeth like that? You need to protect your friends.'_

Opening her eyes she smiled in satisfaction as she saw the half-bloods break free of the spell and start fighting the gorgon. Truthfully Akantha felt bad for the three gorgons. They had born the force of Athena's anger and jealousy of Poseidon's superior power. Athena was a very petty goddess and Akantha despised her for forcing the feud between Greece and Rome to continue. If not for Athena, the hatchet would've been buried millennia ago. Instead, there'd been countless civil wars and hundreds of Athenian demigods had died needlessly for Athena's godsbedamned, useless, statue.

Shaking her head, Akantha pushed away those thoughts and focused again on the quest. She smiled in pleasure as she saw Thalia shove her spear through Medusa's back.

_"Why don't the histories say that Lady Akantha was the one who first defeated Medusa, not Perseus?" Annabeth wondered aloud as she stood and Luke scowled._

_"Probably Zeus didn't want to give the credit to his brother's child instead of his own," he scoffed._

Akantha frowned suspiciously at the bitter words. Demigods were taught of the Ancient Laws and it was genuinely rare for them not to be acknowledged, if only because Akantha nagged the parents into doing so. (Apollo could be shockingly lazy nowadays.)

Perhaps these were just the words of a worried teen, but they could also be a hint as to the identity of the traitor. Luke Castellan had been one of the demigods who had visited Olympus at the Summer Solstice and he was a born thief. He was also in the perfect place to sabotage the retrieval of the Master Bolt. Akantha sighed and mentally promised to keep a close eye on the boy.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Akantha frowned as she watched Ares enter the diner where the questers were sitting down. As a rule, she didn't get along with the god. His pride had never recovered from his failure to defeat her when she was a mortal and they had officially become enemies during the Trojan War when Ares had killed her first demigod child. A daughter born to the last Trojan king Priam, Princess Agalia. As soon as he entered the diner, the demigods were obscured and she could see and do nothing to help them.

"Akantha," a voice came from behind her and she spun in surprise, relaxing when she saw Eileithyia. The goddess of childbirth was a good friend of hers and always had been. "Are you well?"

Akantha frowned. "I don't believe any of us are well at the moment. But I am particularly concerned at the minute yes." Eileithyia looked at her questioningly and she continued. "Ares is speaking to the questers. I cannot see what they are saying and it's making me suspicious. I can count the amount of times Ares has genuinely tried to help a quest on one hand and still have most of my fingers left over."

Eileithyia pursed her lips. "Concerning I agree. But whatever we think of Ares, he doesn't want the Bolt lost. He knows the danger that poses to Olympus."

"But he does want war," Akantha pointed out. Abruptly the demigods were unclouded and as she listened to their conversation she realized with a growing fury that Ares had sent them to retrieve his shield. The shield that Hephaestus had trapped to humiliate the war god after their latest argument over Aphrodite. "How dare he!" She snapped and explained what was happening when Eileithyia looked at her expectantly.

The other deity frowned. "Is it just me," she began slowly. "Or is Ares acting very erratic at the moment?" Akantha frowned.

"I couldn't say," she admitted. "We rarely speak unless needed. I don't know what he's acting like. Are you sure that he isn't just angry about not finding the bolt? His pride has been injured by his failure I'm sure."

"Actually," Eileithyia said. "He doesn't seem bothered by that, which is very strange. And there's this look in his eye when I see him. I feel very uncomfortable around him now. He and Athena have been speaking together often as well I know. I might've thought they were coordinating their efforts to find Lord Zeus' bolt but," she trailed off and Akantha nodded. She understood what Eileithyia was saying and it was frankly very easy for her to be suspicious of both Olympians.

Just then, the Hephaestus TV turned itself on and showed Thalia and Luke on a boat in the Tunnel of Love, Ares' shield clutched to Thalia's chest. They watched the panicked demigods attempts to avoid drowning and their faces burst into grins when Thalia suddenly shot into the air, carrying Luke with her.

_"How are you doing that?" Luke yelled. Thalia's face was white from the strain of lifting him and keeping them airborne._

_"I dunno!"_

_"Can you get down?"_

_"I dunno!"_

_"Can you stop climbing at least?"_

_"I DUNNO! Shut up for the love of Olympus!"_

The two goddesses laughed at the children's antics. When the TV turned off after Thalia successfully landed however, they became serious again. Akantha turned to her friend.

"If you see any more suspicious behavior from Ares, you must tell me."

Eileithyia studied her. "Do you suspect him?"

Akantha hesitated. "I'm not sure what he's up to," she said finally. "Stealing the bolt doesn't seem like him. Ares is a lot of things but a thief has never been one of him. It's against his code of honour. But I am sure that he's doing something. It would surprise me if Athena had something to do with it but I'll keep an eye on both of them, just in case. If and when I find evidence against either of them, I will bring it before Lord Zeus. Hopefully he will listen."

Eileithyia nodded. "Well, my old friend. I have no particular like for either Ares or Athena. I will stand by you so long as you stay loyal to Olympus, I swear it." Akantha nodded, giving a small, but genuine smile to her friend.

"Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

Akantha appeared on the beach pier behind Ares' back. She'd listened to the entire confession and realized that Ares was most certainly being influenced by someone. But willing participant or not, he was far more powerful than the three demigods.

"Ares!" She called, interrupting Thalia before Zeus' daughter could finish issuing the challenge. He spun and the questers muttered to each other. Ares snarled at the sight of her.

"Akantha," he spat. His firey eyes glowed brighter at the sight of her. "Come to die, _minor_ goddess?" His shield changed to a sword.

Akantha raised her own sword. Anaklusmos had been a gift from Zoe Nightshade when she was still mortal. After her elevation, it had been infused with a bit of her godly essence and became her symbol of power on her own request.

"I have always defeated you before Ares," she declared, refusing to be intimidated. "I will do so again and bring you before the Council to answer for your betrayal." And it was a betrayal. Ares might have been influenced, but he wasn't forced. She could sense it. He had betrayed Olympus and Akantha would ensure that he answered for it.

_"Go quickly to the airport,"_ she said in the childrens' heads. _"I will fight Ares, you must get the bolt to Olympus in time. I have put money, passports and plane tickets in Thalia's bag. Go!"_

The demigods hurried away as Ares advanced towards her and Akantha fell into a defensive position. The fight was easy, Akantha had fought Ares more times than she could count and almost always at least fought him to a standstill. That was when she was a demigod and she beat him every time they fought as gods. This time Ares was easy to battle. Usually he was a fearsome opponent but this time he seemed strangely clumsy and unfocused. The battle still lasted several hours however. Even a clumsy god was a vicious enemy.

Just as Akantha was about to disarm the war god, she sensed a presence appear behind her. Before she could either turn around or disarm her opponent, a sharp blade stabbed through her stomach and she gasped in shock. Ares smiled smugly and she realized her mistake with a rising sense of horror.

She had let herself be overconfident and then been taken by surprise by an unknown accomplice.

"Akantha," Athena's voice was cold as she strode to stand beside Ares, facing the injured immortal.

"Athena," Akantha gasped. Her wound wasn't closing and Akantha feared the blade had been poisoned with Phlegethon poison. It was very dangerous to all beings, mortal or otherwise. The Titan Astraeus had faded after being stabbed by a Phlegethon poisoned blade in the Titan War. Apollo would be able to save her, if she could get to him in time. "Why have you betrayed Olympus?"

Athena scoffed. "As if you don't know my reasons." Her bitterness shone from her cold grey eyes. "Those Romans disgraced me! They stole my status as a war goddess from me and my statue."

Akantha felt herself laugh incredulously. "All this, the whole world, for no reason save your godsdamned pride!" _'At least'_ she thought. _'The half-bloods had escaped with the bolt.'_ Then she saw the wicked smiles on the gods' faces and felt her heart sink.

"I suppose you're hoping those half-blood brats will get the Bolt to Olympus in time to stop the declaration of war?" Ares' voice was gleeful and Athena took up the verbal battle, rejoicing in the despair and fear that was beginning to rise in Akantha's eyes.

"My daughter is _loyal_ to me as her mother," Athena smirked as she mentioned Akantha's domain. "I ordered her to delay them long enough to allow the war to start. Your disappearance will also serve to fan the flames of Zeus and Poseidon's rage. They will blame each other and the war will begin!"

_'She is insane,'_ Akantha thought. She felt her resolve steel. She would not allow this to happen, but first she still needed more information. "And what then? What purpose does this war serve?"

The Councilors exchanged looks before turning back to her. Their arrogance had always been their downfalls. "It will keep Olympus distracted and weak. They will be unable to stop the rise of the Crooked Lord."

Akantha gasped in horror at the revelation. Yes she had suspected that a Titan was behind everything but to think that Kronos himself had been the source of the recent trouble was terrifying. Abruptly she saw three flashes of light and two faded to reveal the Roman Twin Archers. The third light joined Akantha and she turned into her true form as Valeria joined with her.

While Apollo rushed to the younger goddess' side to attend her wounds, Diana raised her hunting knives threateningly as she stared furiously at the Greek gods. "It's over Mars, Minerva, " she deliberately used their Roman names to cause their personalities to split and make it easier to defeat them.

"Valeria has told us everything. You're finished. Stand down and you won't suffer as much." Diana didn't mention that the three of them had been with Mercury and Ceres when Valeria had felt her Greek persona's injuries. The others were going for both help and to alert Jupiter and Juno to the treason.

Athena's eyes flashed angrily and she charged Diana, proving her instability. If she were in her right mind she would have been much more careful. Ares was bent double, flashing between his two personalities. Diana fought the wisdom goddess off easily. With Minerva's influence she could barely stay in the one form, let alone fight.

As they fought, all the other major gods, and the minor Roman war gods, Bellona, Nerio, Honos, Victoria and Virtus all flashed in. "Minerva! Mars!" Jupiter's voice was cold. "Submit! You cannot defeat us."

Neptune gave a concerned look towards where Apollo was still working on the loyalty goddess. Apollo didn't glance at them, focused entirely on Valeria's wounds. The two traitors were now firmly in their Roman forms and Minerva stepped back, studying the situation.

"I will not," she declared. As usual, her voice was wild. "I will have justice for what the Empire did! I will see every last one of you suffer for allowing it!"

"You're a fool Minerva," Neptune snarled harshly. "Jupiter's Greek daughter has returned the Bolt, despite the traitorous girl's attempts to stop her. Your daughter has fled. There will be no war. This grudge has only lasted these centuries because of you. You send your Greek children after your statue and when they fail, you reignite the grudge somehow and cause war! It won't happen again and Saturn will not rise again!"

Minerva stared at him and at the weapons held against Mars' throat. "No Neptune," she said. For once her voice wasn't full of madness, only certainty. "You are wrong. Saturn _will_ rise and Rome _will_ fall." Then, before any of the others could move to stop her, she disappeared in a flash of light.

"After her!" Jupiter ordered. Bellona, Diana, Mercury and Nerio quickly disappeared. Minerva was not a war goddess like her Greek counterpart, the others however, were all far more militaristic than their own Greek aspects. Hopefully they would be able to stop the psychotic goddess.

"How is Valeria, Apollo?" Neptune demanded, hurrying to their sides. Apollo pursed his lips, not looking at them.

"She's holding her own, anyway," he said tensely, continuing to work. "I've almost got her stabilized enough to move her back to Olympus. Can someone have a team of healer gods waiting for me?"

"I'll go," Proserpina offered, disappearing. Pluto moved closer to Jupiter and Juno, Ceres and Vesta following with serious expressions. Venus was silent, staring at Mars, held captive by the remaining deities.

"Has there been any stirrings from the pit lately brother?" Jupiter asked as they watched Mars be forcibly flashed away by Vulcan and the war gods. Pluto frowned.

"No but most patrols focus on Punishment, they stay away from Tartarus mostly. I'll have a watch set." Pluto looked grim. They didn't get along well but they were willing to put their differences aside for the sake of getting through the current crisis.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermes' face was grim when he appeared in front of Chiron, Thalia, Luke and Grover. They all quickly bowed and Thalia stepped forward.

"Is Lady Akantha ok?" Thalia asked anxiously. "What's happening with Annabeth?"

Hermes sighed heavily. "Gather everyone in the pavilion," he ordered. "Everyone. Even the nature spirits. I have a message from Lord Zeus."

Chiron's face flashed with worry. As trainer and goddess of heroes, Chiron and Akantha were very close, they had always been so, ever since a twelve-year-old demigoddess Akantha had stumbled into Chiron's camp in Ancient Crete after defeating the Minotaur. "Of course, my lord." The five of them rushed off to gather everyone.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermes sighed tiredly as he made his way to the pavilion. He ignored the people hurrying into the pavilion. His thoughts were grim as he scrolled through his caduceus phone. The whole world was in a panic. Athena and her daughter were Fates knew where, trying to raise Kronos of all immortals, Ares was being held under guard and Akantha was not yet out of danger of fading despite attention from the Twins, Asclepius, Aceso, Hygieia, Iaso, Paean, Panacea and Telesphorus.

"Lord Hermes," Chiron said, cantering up. "Everyone is here." Hermes looked up and nodded. The half-bloods were all gathered and split into uneven groups. Hermes found himself focusing on one of the largest groups. Akantha, as goddess of heroes was the only one outside of the Councilors to have a cabin and any unclaimed children, or children whose parents had no cabin, went to hers. Akantha herself had only born twenty-one children over the centuries. One was born when she was still mortal and currently, she had only a set of Greek twins and a Roman daughter.

"Heroes," Hermes began, stepping forward. "I come baring grave news. Lord Ares and Lady Athena have betrayed Olympus." There was gasps of shock and the children of the named deities looked both stunned and fearful. Hermes continued. "When she learned of Ares' treason, Lady Akantha attempted to subdue him so she could bring him to Olympus to answer for his crimes. Unfortunately, she was taken by surprise when Athena stabbed her with a blade that was coated with a layer of poison, deadly even to the Gods." A girl Hermes was sure was in fact Akantha's youngest child started to sob in distress, her stunned brother pulling her into a hug.

"She lives currently but is being constantly cared for by the healers. Ares has been imprisoned and Athena is being searched for. They have both been stripped of their titles and are no longer members of the Olympian Council." He turned toward the distressed children of the traitors.

"The Council discussed what should be done with the remaining children of the traitors. It has been agreed that an oath of loyalty to Olympus, sworn on the Styx, will suffice to spare your lives. Annabeth Chase, however, has actively worked against the gods and is sentenced to die upon being found." He caught a glimpse of Luke and Thalia's distraught faces as he mused silently, 'If not for Akantha Zeus would almost certainly have just killed them all.' But frankly the abrupt loss of so many heroes at once would've weakened Akantha far too much to survive. The loyalty oaths on the other hand would hopefully strengthen her a bit.

The demigods all exchanged dazed looks before a girl abruptly stood from the Ares table and spoke rapidly. "I, Clarisse LaRue, swear on the River Styx to never betray Olympus and to always fight to defend it." After Clarisse, an Athenian boy stood and it continued until all the demigods had sworn. Hermes nodded curtly and flashed away to report to Zeus after snapping his fingers to destroy the two cabins.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Across the country, Mercury was visiting New Rome to inform the Romans of recent events.

He appeared in the Forum, dressed in full war regalia, his caduceus clutched tightly. The legionnaires scrambled to get to their knees, shock on their faces. In the last few centuries, the only gods that had spoken directly to the Romans were Lupa, Valeria and Terminus.

"Praetors," Mercury's voice was stony. "Gather the Legion, that you might hear the commands of Lord Jupiter." The Praetors, a twenty-year-old daughter of Victoria and an eighteen-year-old legacy of Apollo hastily bowed and the heroes all rushed around gathering their comrades. Finally, after several minutes, the Twelfth was gathered in the Forum, kneeling in respect.

"Romans!" Mercury boomed. "I come with grave tidings. Mars and Minerva have betrayed Olympus." Shock rippled through the half-bloods, but unlike their Greek counterparts, they stayed silent.

"Valeria discovered Mars' treachery and sought to bring him before the Council for justice. However, she was unaware of Minerva's betrayal and Minerva dishonourably stabbed her in the back with a poisoned knife. She has not faded, and it is believed that she will survive, but if not for the swift arrival of the Twin Archers, she would most certainly have been lost." This time there was noise, and Mercury spotted one of his daughters putting an arm around stricken girl the image of Valeria. Her daughter Claudia no doubt.

"Mars has been imprisoned and both of the traitors have been stripped of their titles. Minerva escaped but Diana, Bellona and Nerio are all currently searching for her and I will also be rejoining the search soon.

For now, I am to receive oaths of loyalty to Olympus from all children and legacies of Mars as well as oversee the destruction their temples."

It took a few moments before a boy bearing Mars symbol on his tattoo stood and numbly gave his oath, triggering the rest to do the same. It took Mercury longer then Hermes to finish receiving the oaths, as he needed to get the legacies' oaths too, but eventually he had them all and was standing in front of Mars temple. He stared silently at it for a moment, remembering Valeria's pale face and still body. Then a bolt of lightning fell from the sky as Jupiter used his newly returned symbol of power to destroy the elaborate building.

The Olympian Civil War had officially begun.


	6. Chapter 6

A year after their worlds were turned upside down, the demigods of Camp Half-Blood woke to find the guard tree was dying.

One of the first things every camper learned after arriving was the story of the tree. Millennia ago, several years after Akantha was made a goddess, her firstborn son Alekios had died saving some half-bloods at the border of Chiron's original hero training grounds. Akantha had been overcome by grief at the loss and sought to preserve him forever. His lifeforce was merged with a bit of her godly essence and transformed into the guard tree, an entirely unique tree at that. It was referred to as the Alekios tree and ever since, the half-bloods had always known where to make their new camp based on where the new one sprouted when Olympus moved.

And now it was dying.

Thalia came rushing from her cabin at the sound of the alarm being sounded. In all of her time at camp, it had only ever been sounded as a drill. This was not a drill. She joined the group rushing towards Half-Blood Hill, quickly finding Luke and trying to put the dream of a captive Grover to the back of her mind until later.

The force arrived at the hilltop where Lee Fletcher and Kayla Knowles, both children of Apollo, were bent over Katie Gardner. Katie's hair was soaked from the puddle of blood that surrounded her and there was several piles of monster dust and a few plant remains scattered over the hill. It was obvious that she'd fought fiercely to defend the camp before falling.

"How is she?" Chiron asked, looking grim as he cantered up. Kayla glanced up but Lee continued to focus on the unconscious girl.

"We've almost got her stabilized but," Kayla faltered, blue eyes flicking towards the fearful children of Demeter before finishing. "It's bad Chiron. I don't know if she'll wake up or what shape she'll be in if does." There was a shocked silence as everyone looked toward Chiron for reassurance. Very few demigods were afraid of death, not when they all knew they would go to Elysium. Brain damage was a whole other ball game.

Chiron pressed his lips tightly together but before he could say anything Nyssa Barrera let out an abrupt shout.

"The tree! Look at the tree!"

Everyone looked over on instinct and promptly started shouting. The tree's bark was tinged with a green-black colour and it seemed to stoop slightly. Thalia had never been so horrified. Chiron moved closer, his expression darkened as he examined the bark.

"Transport Katie to the infirmary immediately," he ordered. "And have a defense set up. No less than a full phalanx with at least three archers, on guard here at all times. I must send an IM to Olympus straight away."

Thalia couldn't bring herself to look or move away from the nightmarish sight. _'Annabeth did this,'_ she thought. Tears filled her eyes as she fully comprehended for the first time just how far her surrogate sister had fallen.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Olympus already knew that something was wrong. Akantha had been speaking seriously with Zeus, Hera, Poseidon and the Twins regarding the still unsuccessful search for Athena when she suddenly fell to her knees in agony.

"Akantha!" The gods yelled, Poseidon grabbing her to keep her from completely collapsing. Apollo instantly began attending to her, becoming more alarmed with every minute.

"It's like she's been poisoned again!" He declared in worry. "We need to get her to her chambers so I can help her. And someone get the other healers!" With that he flashed away, taking Akantha with him.

It was several hours later that Chiron's IM shimmered to life. The gods were waiting grimly. Poseidon himself had a bleak expression and Hestia and Demeter were trying to comfort him.

"My Lords and Ladies," Chiron bowed. "I apologize for my interruption."

Zeus gave a curt nod. "What is it?" He demanded, in no mood for pleasantries when his most trusted advisor's life once again hung in the balance. Chiron took a deep breath before explaining what had happened. Demeter looked stricken at the news of her daughter's state.

"How could this have happened Chiron?" Zeus demanded furiously. "That tree is infused with Akantha's life essence! It is her most vulnerable point! It should've had a round-the-clock triple guard!"

"And what of Katie?" Demeter interjected furiously. "At the least she should've had _one,_ companion with her instead being forced to fight off Fates know many monsters by herself!"

Chiron didn't defend himself, simply bowing his head more, a defeated expression on his face.

"I think perhaps you should take a break from running Camp Half-Blood for a while Chiron," Zeus said coldly. "We will send someone to take over for you and I want you to be gone as soon as they arrive."

There was a distraught look on Chiron's face but he bowed and murmured agreement. Hermes hurried toward the room where Akantha was being worked on to give the healer gods the new information.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

_Akantha was dreaming. She knew it was a dream and she also knew that she couldn't be because she was a goddess and gods didn't dream. Perhaps it wasn't a real dream because she was actually remembering._

_She dreamt she was a fourteen-year-old demigoddess again. She was in a small hut in Crete, the same hut where she'd lived with her husband for years. She was in labour and it seemed like she was splitting in half from the pain._

_"Keep breathing," her half-sister Philomena encouraged, wiping her face with a cloth. Of her current seventeen siblings, Philomena was her favourite. "Oh Eileithyia, Artemis, Hecate and Hera, goddesses of childbirth. Be with my sister in this most dangerous of times."_

_Akantha knew why she and the other attendants, a daughter each of Eileithyia, Hecate and Apollo, were all so worried. Childbirth was dangerous in the best of circumstances and she was early. "How is," she struggled to rasp out. "Lysander? Will he, huff huff, live?"_

_"We aren't sure," Philomena admitted, continuing to pat her face with the sea water soaked cloth to try and strengthen her. "There's been no news yet."_

_Akantha moaned in fear. Lysander had been injured when a manticore attacked the camp several hours before, the stress had sent the seven months pregnant daughter of Poseidon into premature labour._

_"If only we had the Fleece," Alyona, daughter of Apollo muttered, pressing a canteen of nectar to Akantha's lips._

Akantha's eyes flew open. "The Fleece!" She gasped and Hygieia bent closer.

"What?" The goddess of good health asked with a frown.

"Find," Akantha struggled to force out the words. "The Golden Fleece!"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

"But where will you go?" Thalia asked Chiron desperately. "Surely Lady Akantha won't allow this!"

Chiron sighed, pressing his palms to his forehead. "I am going to stay with some of my cousins, the Party Ponies. And as for Lady Akantha," he paused for second before reluctantly continuing. "She is ill from the tree being poisoned."

Thalia and Luke gasped. "How?" Luke demanded.

"It's infused with her godly essence," Chiron explained. "If it's damaged, then she suffers as well. I should have been more careful about its safety. Instead Katie is in a coma and Akantha is half-faded from poisoning."

The demigods exchanged defeated looks. Chiron was fixed on what had happened and wouldn't be dissuaded from letting himself be published. And Akantha was too weak to intercede on his behalf. For now, they would have to cope without Chiron.

Chiron left and Tantalus arrived without fanfare. And the first thing he did was restart chariot racing. That Camp Half-Blood's safety was at risk seemed completely irrelevant to the dead son of Zeus. It came as no surprise to anyone that Thalia's temper snapped and she forced a quest to be declared. What was a surprise was that Clarisse was chosen instead of Thalia or Luke.


	7. Chapter 7

Thalia was quiet as she slipped out of her cabin and headed to the beach where she and Luke had agreed to meet. She faltered, though, at the sight of another man in a tracksuit greeting her closest friend.

"Ah Thalia!" The man said with a smile. "Come and join us won't you little sister?"

"Little -?" Thalia frowned for a minute before she recognized him from the disastrous day last year. "You're Hermes!"

"That's me," he agreed. "Lord Hermes, God of Trade, Travel, Merchants and Thievery, at your service."

"Why are you here Father?" Luke asked and Hermes sighed grimly.

"What do you two know of the events of since Athena and Ares' treachery was discovered?" He asked them and they exchanged bemused looks.

"Ares is in prison and they've both been stripped of their positions as members of the Olympian Council," Thalia said finally.

"Athena is still on the loose," Luke added. "And so is," he faltered. "Annabeth."

Hermes nodded. _"Oh get on with it,"_ the female snake, Thalia thought Luke had once said her name was Martha, hissed. Hermes scowled but nodded.

"It took Akantha nearly three months to be restored to her full strength after being injured," he started. "It's a testament to her willpower that she survived at all really. Even Titans have been known to fade from Phlegethon poison. Ares is imprisoned in a cell on Olympus, as we fear that Tartarus is no longer secure, what with the Titan king beginning to stir.

The trouble is domains aren't actually granted by Zeus, despite popular belief. A god is, for lack of another word, born, with their domains. And we gain strength from them. Meaning Athena and Ares are both still quite strong.

Our fear is that Athena has hidden motives behind poisoning the guard tree. Not only is the Camp made vulnerable to invasion but Akantha is once again fighting the same poison that she defeated last year. The healers fear she does not have the energy to survive it again, especially not so soon."

The two demigods gripped each others' hands in distress at the news as Hermes continued. "Akantha is the only one able to calm Zeus when he is in a rage. He trusts her above all. I don't know what he will do if she fades but it won't be pretty. And Poseidon will also be enraged by his daughter's loss. She is his favourite child and has been since before being made immortal.

And Olympus is already weakened by losing two Councilors. We needed to elevate Akantha to make up the numbers at the coming Solstice, no other goddess has enough power to become a Council member."

"So what do you want from us?" Thalia asked finally. "Clarisse is already off searching for the Fleece. What else can we do?"

Hermes looked seriously at them. "I want you to help her. She is strong yes, but her chances are slim without help."

The two didn't hesitate, giving sharp nods.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hermes sighed as he reappeared on Olympus in a flash.

"Well?" Aphrodite asked. She had been waiting tensely in his rooms. A gold framed mirror stood beside her, showing an image of a young girl with Native American features, bent over a computer with a similar looking man. One of her daughters Hermes supposed.

He nodded to her. "They're headed to join the Ares girl now," he told her. "They'll meet her soon enough."

Aphrodite sighed. "Good." She turned back to the mirror with a tired expression. Hermes studied her. Aphrodite seemed to have lost her spark since Ares' treachery was discovered.

"How are you?" He asked softly. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Humiliated," she admitted. "Akantha warned me you know. She told me that Ares didn't deserve me, that I should be a better wife to Hephaestus instead of punishing him for Zeus forcing me into a marriage without my wants being considered. I should have listened. And I don't know if Hephaestus could ever consider reconciliation."

Hermes ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to say," he finally admitted. "But perhaps you should speak to Hephaestus."

Aphrodite swallowed. "I don't know if he would hear me out."

Hermes shrugged. "All you can do is try," he pointed out before switching subjects. "Who do you think should take Ares' seat? Dionysus or Hades?"

Aphrodite frowned in consideration. "Hades would be more appropriate," she mused. "He is the only child of the Crooked Lord without constant access to Olympus. But without Akantha to convince him, I don't think Zeus would agree to it. She's the only one who can reason with him when he's being paranoid."

Hermes nodded heavily. "And without her, there won't be any goddesses strong enough to finish off the Council. We will be too weak to defeat the Titans if it becomes a proper war."

They fell into a dark silence, contemplating the dark future ahead of them if the quest failed and Akantha faded.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Aphrodite hesitated at the entrance to her husband's forge. Usually she was full of self-confidence but faced with trying to reconcile with the husband she had treated so cruelly over the centuries, she had no clue what to say.

"Are you planning on coming in or are you just gonna stand there?" The god of forges' rough voice came from within.

"Of course," Aphrodite tried to sound calm. She strode inside, lifting her long pink dress off the floor.

"Aphrodite," he greeted, rising up from his bench. "What can I do for you?"

"Can a wife not come to visit her husband?"

"You've never done so before," Hephaestus patted out a small fire in his beard.

Akantha's voice whispered in her mind. _"He deserves to know why you never gave him a chance."_

"It wasn't your looks," Aphrodite blurted out. Her husband raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Or anything to do with you really. I was angry. Angry that everyone looked down on me despite the fact that I was the eldest of the gods. That Zeus thought he could just marry me off without my consent to someone I'd never met. That my children and I were looked down on and judged because of Athena's influence.

I couldn't take out my anger on Zeus, he is the king. I couldn't get revenge on Athena when she was his most favoured child. But you, I could take it out you. I wanted a target for my anger and you were the only one available. I chose Ares originally because he was what would hurt you most. Then we had our children and I genuinely started to love him. I'm the goddess of love, I couldn't help it. But, if you would agree to it, I want to try and have a proper marriage with you."

Hephaestus was silent for so long Aphrodite feared that he was going to refuse her. She opened her mouth to try and convince him again, but was cut off by him giving her a hesitant, but warm and gentle, kiss.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thalia stared heartbrokenly at Annabeth. "I don't understand Annabeth," she said defeatedly. "I know that the gods aren't perfect but the Titans would be far worse. You're going to destroy the world if you keep on with this!"

"Well it's not like the world's ever done much for me!" The daughter of Athena retorted sharply. "Now don't make me ask again. _Where is the Fleece?"_

"What do you even want with it?" Luke demanded, He glanced at Thalia from the corner of his eye. _Don't mention Clarisse,_ he told her silently. She gave a slight nod in reply. Hopefully Grover would be sensible enough not to mention that Clarisse had taken it ahead to Camp either.

Annabeth's face softened as she looked at him. "We can hurry Lord Kronos' restoration by putting it over the sarcophagus," she explained waving at the golden coffin. Thalia realized with a hint of distant incredulity that she had a crush on him. She wondered why she had never figured it out before. Then she abruptly realized someone was missing from the deck.

"Where's Athena?"

Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "Mother is taking advantage of Akantha's weakness," she said simply. Thalia felt dread rise inside her at the ominous words. Luke and Grover also looked worried. "Enough of this. Kill her and the satyr but leave Luke alive!"

The next few minutes were a messy blur of fighting, yelling and the timely arrival of Party Pony reinforcements.

Thanks to centaur speed, they arrived back in time to see Clarisse placing the Fleece over the lowest branch.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Akantha groaned as she opened her eyes.

"Akantha!" Apollo's relieved face was the first thing she saw and she smiled weakly at him.

"Well congratulations on once again surviving something no one else has," Hermes told her cheerfully as Artemis and Epione helped her sit up while Paean carefully checked her over. "Really are we certain you aren't really the goddess of impossible things?"

Akantha let out a weak laugh. "Fairly. What did I miss?"

The Olympians exchanged looks and Akantha noticed with a jolt of alarm that Zeus had a faint hint of guilt in his eyes.

"What is it?" She demanded worriedly. "What happened?"

"Never mind Daughter," Poseidon said soothingly. "We will tell you later. Focus on being fully recovered for the Solstice. It's in three days."

Akantha pursed her lips but knew from their faces that no now would say anything to her. She reluctantly inclined her head in acceptance. As she opened her mouth to ask if a decision had been made on whether Hades or Dionysus would receive the sixth male throne alongside her, the door burst open and Enyo rushed in, wearing a frantic expression.

"Ares has escaped!"


	8. Chapter 8

Three days after her awakening, Akantha appeared just outside the elevator. She refused to subject herself to the music that Apollo insisted on playing in the elevator. It was torture on her delicate ears, in her own opinion. Hades was waiting, a pleased smirk on his face and Persephone clutching his arm, equally delighted at her husband's promotion.

"My Lord," she curtsied at him. "Congratulations on your appointment to the Council. Are you ready for the ceremony?"

He gave a sharp nod. "I expect I have you to thank for it," he answered dryly and Akantha inclined her head slightly. It was true that if she hadn't convinced Zeus that the Council would have more strength from Hades joining than Dionysus, he would have chosen his son over his brother but it seemed rude to speak of it.

"Shall we?" She asked with a small smile and the others nodded. They started to walk up the path, nature spirits and minor gods falling into obeisance as they passed. "Any news on them?" She asked in a low voice as they strode up. Persephone stiffened and Hades gave a small head shake.

"Nothing. They're completely off my spies radar. I have no idea where they could be."

Akantha sighed resignedly but didn't reply, instead focusing on the large doors in front of them.

"Good luck my love," Persephone told Hades with a smile and kiss. "I will see you afterward." She broke away to hurry inside. They waited in silence for several more minutes before Zeus' voice boomed out from the chambers, bidding them to enter.

"Ladies first," Hades offered, gesturing at her. Akantha smiled at him and walked in, her long blue chiton swishing around her ankles. Hades followed her and they both bowed (or curtsied in Akantha's case) to the King of Olympus.

"Welcome Lord Hades, King of the Underworld and all the Earth's Riches!" Zeus declared regally. "Welcome Lady Akantha, Goddess of Loyalty, Heroes, Bravery and Strength. On this Solstice, we have gathered to elevate you both to the highest position a god can attain, that of a member of the Olympian Council. Do you accept these positions?"

"I do," Hades said, Akantha echoing him seconds later with an added my lord.

Zeus nodded. "Very well," he waved his hand at the left side of the room where a throne made of obsidian decorated with skull carvings rose beside Poseidon's boat bench styled throne. "Arise Lord Hades, and take your place in the Circle." Hades' pale lips twitched into a smile as he made his way over to the seat.

"Welcome Brother," the sea god muttered as Hades seated himself. "It's about time." Hades glanced at him from the corner of his eye and gave a small nod. Then everyone turned their attention to the goddess standing calmly in front of the king.

"Lady Akantha," Zeus began, a fond smile playing on his lips. "You have long proved your worthiness to Olympus. Welcome to the Council of the Gods." This time he gestured at the right side of the room and a throne grew between Artemis and Demeter, where Athena's had once been.

It was a delicate diamond seat, engraved with scenes of Akantha's adventures and with a scabbard attached to the side for her sword. She smiled in pleasure at it. She had never sought a place in the Council but now she had it, she didn't think taking advantage of it to make life better for those within her domains was wrong.

At least since the two gods had been banished the petty arguing had been cut in half.

The rest of the meeting was focused on the reports of the Great Stirring beginning and of the search for Ares and Athena.

"I don't understand how they're evading my hunters," Artemis' voice was frustrated. "It shouldn't be possible!" Apollo gave his twin a sympathetic look while the rest exchanged grim frowns at the news.

"Oceanus has sided with the Titans," Poseidon offered grimly. "I have sent emissaries to the other water deities to try and make them agree to stay with Olympus. But Oceanus is actively working against us. He is defending this Princess Andromeda boat. None of my storms can touch it."

"What if we convinced Tethys to side with Olympus," Hades offered. "If the two of you combined your powers, you might be able to damage it."

The main problem they had, Akantha reflected as they traded reports and arguments back and forth, was that Athena was their best strategist and without her or any war god they were unable to make a decision. As well as that, Athena was able to predict their movements and counter them. There was, however, a simple solution to the problem.

"My Lords and Ladies," she interrupted an argument between Demeter and Hermes on whether they should try and coax the turned minor gods back to Olympus. "If I might make a suggestion?"

"Of course Akantha," Zeus nodded and Poseidon smiled encouragingly at her. "Your counsel is always welcome."

"Athena can predict our decisions," Akantha began. "So my suggestions are this. We send for the minor war gods to help plan our strategy, as none of us are war gods and as such cannot take everything into account. And we allow our more militaristic personas to take control. Athena will not be able to effectively predict Roman decisions."

The Councilors exchanged looks before Zeus gave a curt nod and they all shimmered as their Roman aspects took control.

"A sensible idea regarding the minor gods Valeria," Jupiter said after they were all settled into themselves and their memories had merged properly. "Mercury, go and fetch them." Mercury swiftly rose. After giving a quick bow, he hurried out. While the gods waited they left their thrones to huddle in groups and whisper to each other.

Valeria made her way to Neptune after he caught her eye.

"Congratulations on your new position Daughter," he murmured when she reached him. "You certainly deserve it." A small smile played at her lips.

"Thank you, Father. It is an honour I did not expect." The two gave each other smiles before turning serious.

"If not for Ocean's treason," Neptune huffed. "I could've destroyed that Fatesdamned ship and been done with all of this. There has even been some attacks at Atlantis and the sea camp."

Valeria's expression darkened. "They want to keep you distracted," she concluded grimly. "They will increase the severity and timing of the attacks until you're too busy to leave the oceans and give aid to us." Neptune nodded in agreement with her theory as Mercury reentered with Bellona, Nerio, Victoria, Honos and Virtus following.

"Welcome, my old friends," Jupiter said as he conjured several guest thrones for them. "We have summoned you here to help discuss the defense for Olympus."

"And the Camps," Valeria interjected firmly. "We cannot afford to lose the demigods. They are vital to our survival. We must have a plan for them to be able to quickly evacuate and also to withstand sieges." Jupiter inclined his head as the other gods nodded.

"Perhaps it is time to unite the heroes," Juno offered and everyone's whipped to stare at her.

"Have you gone mad sister?" Ceres demanded fiercely. "Or have you simply forgotten the feud? We cannot afford to deal with another civil war on top of the Titans."

Juno glared back haughtily. "That feud was kept alive by Minerva," she pointed out sharply. "Without her to fan the flames, we can ensure they keep the peace. The Titans would never expect such a move."

"My Lords and Ladies I must advise against such a plan," Bellona interjected. "It's too risky. While the half-bloods might cooperate, there is no guarantee. If another civil war were too erupt, we would be doomed." The rest nodded in agreement. Valeria in particular gave a dark look to her queen.

"We are agreed then," Jupiter declared sternly, giving his unhappy wife a quelling look. "There will be no attempts to unite the camps. Understood?"

She scowled but nodded grudgingly and they turned their attention to strategizing. By the end of the meeting, an evacuation plan had been made for each camp, emissaries were being sent to the neutral Titans and those who had fought for Olympus previously and Neptune had agreed to increase the defense training for his Cyclopses to let them be held as a reserve force. It was progress at least. Olympus wouldn't fall without a fight.

As the gods began to disperse, Valeria rushed to grab Juno's arm and keep her from leaving. "Your Majesty I need to speak to you," she told the queen firmly.

"What about?" Juno raised an arrogant eyebrow. Given their differing opinions on heroes, Valeria and Juno rarely spoke to each other, unless regarding marital fidelity, within both of their domains.

"I don't know why you wanted to reunite the camps," Valeria muttered to the queen. "But I know you've been intervening in several heroes' lives lately." Juno's jaw clenched tightly at the words. "Whatever you're planning, I'm warning you to stop. Heroes are my domain, not yours. I will not let you harm any of them."

Juno drew herself up with an indignant expression on her face. "How dare you threaten me! I'm the Queen-"

"And we both know who Lord Jupiter will side with on the issue," Valeria interrupted. "Something to think about."

Juno glowered at her as she turned to stride away but Valeria didn't care. Juno constantly terrorized Valeria's charges and she was fed up with it. Had been since she was a Greek demigod and her closest friend, a daughter of Zeus named Calanthe had been killed by one of Hera's minions. She had been pregnant at the time.

"Terra is rising," the words stopped Valeria in her tracks. She spun back and hurried over.

"Explain," she demanded, ignoring all propriety. Terra rising was far too serious a subject to take lightly. Not after the mess that was the Gigantomachy.

"Come to my chambers," Juno ordered. "We can speak privately there." She flashed away and Valeria followed with a scowl. As soon as she arrived she demanded an explanation again.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

"In 1945, a daughter of Pluto was taken to Alaska by her mother," Juno began.

"Hazel Levesque," Valeria interrupted. "Yes, I remember her." Valeria had been distracted by the war and too late to intervene before Marie and Hazel had crossed into the land beyond the gods.

Juno pursed her lips at the interruption before continuing. "And then there was Michael Varus' expedition in the 80's. I spoke to some of the survivors in secret and managed to discover that they confronted Alcyoneus."

Valeria inhaled sharply at that. She hadn't been able to stop the expedition despite her desire to do so. All she had managed was guiding the survivors safely home to Camp Jupiter. She had heard their ramblings but hadn't understood them. If Juno was correct in her beliefs. The loyalty goddess stood and began to pace.

"You cannot be certain of this," she finally managed to croak out, rubbing her temples. "The mutterings of madmen are not proof of anything."

"You cannot say that you can't see the pattern repeating itself," Juno challenged. "We are about to fight a second Titan War. The Titan's first defeat is what triggered the last war. It is no surprise that Terra would begin to awaken again. Pluto's daughter's death would've been enough to allow Terra to begin stirring properly. And she directly caused the death of the fire user's mother."

"Leo Valdez," Valeria snapped. "He lost control and she was caught in crossfire. I didn't sense Gaia around the place when I arrived. I would have _noticed_."

At some point during the conversation they had changed to their Greek forms. Akantha was even more disturbed at the thought of Gaia rising than Valeria was.

"You were a demigod when Gaia last stirred," Hera reasoned. "And you died during the war. It's not unexpected that you would forget exactly what she felt like."

Akantha huffed, unwilling to concede the point. "Still, even if Gaia is rising. That doesn't explain why you would want to unite the camps. A civil war would only worsen the situation."

Hera smirked and Akantha felt a shiver of dread crawl up her spine. "Do you remember the Roman Prophecy of Seven?"


	9. Chapter 9

Akantha knew, of course, that Bianca and Nico di'Angelo had survived their mother's death. Keeping quiet about it was the most disloyal she had ever been to her King. She had also said nothing when she felt them being removed from the Lotus Eaters' den. The only thing she had done was subtly alter the list of which satyr was going where so that Grover Underwood was sent to Westover Military, arriving two days after the di'Angelos.

As she watched Thalia and Luke struggle against the Manticore, the same one that once attacked the Ancient Greek training camp and sent her into early labour with her son, she braced herself to intervene and save them.

She could be forgiven for breaking the Laws when all three candidates for the Prophecy were at risk. She was saved from doing so, however, by the Hunters arrival. She regretted stopping when Thalia and Thorn tumbled off the cliffside together.

She switched away from the scene and tried to find Thalia, becoming steadily more worried as she continued to fail to get a lock on the girl's location. Eventually after an hour of searching she was forced to admit that it was time to alert Lord Zeus.

She flashed away and reappeared in front of the King's ornate doors, knocking tentatively.

"Enter," came the sky god's voice. Akantha braced herself for a tantrum that would likely result in one of the largest tornadoes in history, and obeyed.

"My King," she curtsied as she carefully averted her eyes from the nymph in his bed.

"Akantha," he smiled cheerfully at her and she felt her heart sink. It would've been better if he was in a bad mood. Bad news when he was in a good mood always made him twice as furious. Briefly cursing the fact that she couldn't have Hermes deliver the news she rose to look at him.

"My Lord I have some urgent news for you. Might we speak in private please?"

His eyes narrowed and curtly waved his hand, the nymph disappearing. "What is it Akantha?" he demanded. "What have the Titans done now?"

Akantha swallowed again before looking him in the eye. "They've taken Thalia," she revealed. She rushed on to give the rest of the news before he smote her in a fit of fury. "The Ophiotaurus has also been reborn and Artemis has gone after them both alone."

She was cut off by a sharp boom and the agonizing pain of being struck by the Master Bolt. She reformed a few minutes to the sight of a thunderous god.

"I am ordering an emergency meeting!" He snarled at her as she crawled to her feet and gave a shaky curtsy. "Immediately!"

"Yes, milord," she mumbled, gathering her energy to flash away before he could blast her again. The Master Bolt _hurt._

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

The council was completely out of control, everyone yelling over each other. Of course, as far as everyone except for Akantha and Hades knew, the only candidate for the Great Prophecy, (as Jason Grace was Roman and therefore not in line for some obscure reason Akantha didn't understand), was currently in the hands of their enemies along with Artemis now being officially missing it was unsurprising.

Akantha herself was enraged by the hint of smug satisfaction in Hera's expression at her stepdaughters' fates as she perched silently on her throne.

"ENOUGH!" Zeus finally yelled. "Everybody take your seats immediately!" The gods scattered to their various thrones and sat. Apollo shifted anxiously, a distressed look in his eyes. The silver throne belonging to Artemis was glaringly empty.

"As we are all aware," Zeus started tensely. "Thalia, my daughter and the only candidate for the Great Prophecy, has been captured by the Titan army. In addition to this, the Ophiotaurus has been reborn and Artemis disappeared whilst hunting for it. She is most likely also a hostage of the Titans. I have decided to order a quest. Does anyone have anything else to reveal?"

Akantha flashed an apologetic look at Hades before clearing her throat. Zeus briefly closed his eyes before signaling her to speak.

"The two demigods that Luke and Thalia were saving, Artemis' new huntress and the ten-year-old boy-" Akantha hoped to minimize the gods' wrath by emphasizing that Bianca and Nico weren't threats but was abruptly cut off by Hades standing abruptly.

"Are my youngest children from the 1940s," he bluntly declared.

For once, Poseidon lost his temper before Zeus and Akantha couldn't really say she either blamed him or was surprised at his outrage. After all, he was now the only one of the Big Three without a demigod child. Both his brothers had a son and daughter each. Seconds after Poseidon stood to yell, Zeus joined in.

Akantha grimly waded in to mediate between the Big Three. "My Lords, My Lords please! We have bigger problems to concern ourselves with! And I will not permit any of the children to be harmed. They are within my domain and under my protection."

She finally managed to convince them to sit back down with angry expressions. "How long have you been aware of these demigods, Lady Akantha?"

Akantha breathed out through her noses. "Since their birth."

"And you did not report they were still alive?!" Zeus roared furiously and Akantha's eyes fell to the floor. "How could you betray me like this? Aren't you the goddess of loyalty?"

"I didn't consider it a betrayal, My Lord," she whispered. "Demigods are under my protection and you would have killed them. I could not allow it."

Zeus gave her a stormy look and jerked his hand in dismissal.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Akantha waited solemnly for the demigods to come close to her before stepping forward to catch their attention. The group, made up of Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di'Angelo, Phoebe, Luke Castellan and Grover Underwood, turned and raised their weapons automatically before falling into bows at the sight of her.

She waved her hand and spoke. "Luke Castellan, I wish to speak with you." Luke looked nervous, but thankfully not frightened as he approached. Akantha had been careful to only ever kill enemies of Olympus and it had earned her a reputation as the gentlest of the gods. She turned and walked inside the closed down diner, the son of Hermes following at her heels.

"I have always been different from my fellow immortals," she finally began after studying him for a minute in silence. Luke frowned in bemusement.

"Heracles, Dionysus, all of them were raised to godhood and forgot their roots. _I_ did not. I intervene far more then is permitted and escape punishment due to my domain being heroes. But it never seems enough."

Luke shifted uneasily. "My Lady?"

Akantha's eyes snapped over to him. "Do you know anything of my husband?" She asked. "He is not spoken of much."

Luke shrugged. "He was a demigod named Lysander and you had a son with him. That's all I know."

Akantha nodded, a sad look in her eye. "He was a son of Athena," she revealed. "It was the scandal of the age, a daughter of Poseidon marrying a son of Athena. She disowned him for it and I suspect I too would have be cast off if it had not pleased my lord father to anger her more by leaving me unpunished. He would be ashamed to know what his mother and sister have done."

"What happened to him?" Luke asked tentatively and the goddess sighed.

"After my death, but before I was resurrected as a goddess, he lost himself to grief and attacked my killer. He was killed also.

In the Middle Ages he was reborn a mortal. At the time we were in England. I recognized his soul and bore him three more sons. They helped arrange the Magna Carta. However he wanted to try for the Isles of the Blest before accepting my offer of immortality. I am waiting for his third life to begin now."

Luke shifted uneasily at the sadness in Akantha's face and tone as she talked.

"So, um, not to be rude or anything but what's the point of this conversation then?" Luke asked nervously and Akantha smiled.

"Do you know of the creation tale, where Zeus split humans in half and we were all cursed to spend our lives searching for our other halves?"

Luke nodded uncertainly and Akantha continued. "I have lived without half of my soul for many thousands of years Luke. Don't do that to yourself. Don't hold back for fear of getting hurt. You know of the Prophecy's words. Take advantage of having Thalia while you still can. You will regret it far more if you don't."

Luke nodded and Akantha stood, pausing for a second. "Don't blame yourself Luke," she urged him and he frowned.

"Blame myself for what?" He asked her in confusion.

"All things must come to an end and not even gods can defy the Fates. Find the strength to continue on despite your grief, as we all have done throughout history." With those ominous words left ringing in his ears, the goddess of strength began to glow and when Luke had reopened his eyes, she was gone and the old diner was empty save for a backpack. When he opened it, it was full of food, clean clothes and sleeping bags and some money.

Dazed and uneasy, he scooped it up over his shoulder and left the restaurant to rejoin his companions.

"What happened?" Zoe demanded. "What didst the lady tell thee?"

Luke shrugged helplessly. "I'm not sure really. She told me a bit about her husband and said something about not being able to defy the Fates. Then she disappeared and left the bag. It's got supplies in it."

Zoe frowned. "Curious. Lady Akantha is not one to be cryptic. Though the supplies were a gracious gift. She was that way even as a demigod of course."

"Did you know Lady Akantha as a demigod then?" Bianca asked curiously as they started walking forward through the junkyard again. Zoe nodded but it was Phoebe who elaborated.

"We met Lady Akantha when she was thirteen, right before her marriage. Lady Artemis offered for her to become a huntress but she was determined to marry him.

I don't like males but even I'll acknowledge that they really did love each other."

The other questers gave shocked looks at that comment and Phoebe huffed.

"It just wasn't done, you know?" She explained, walking around yet another piece of broken metal. "Children of Poseidon and children of Athena weren't friends. They _definitely_ didn't marry. Akantha and Lysander were friends before either of them were claimed though, and they refused to end the engagement, no matter how many people begged. Even when Athena threatened to, and then actually did disown her son, they still insisted that they would marry.

Akantha had no children for almost eight centuries before having her first demigod daughter, and all of her lovers have had some similarities to Lysander. She's the goddess of loyalty for a reason you know."

That was when Talos rose to its feet and interrupted them. The battle was short but intense and when it was over they all gathered together to check over each other.

"Where's Phoebe?" Bianca asked brokenly as they all slowly registered that there was a huntress missing. Luke had never seen Zoe cry before and he never wanted to again. He pulled Grover away to her some privacy as she grieved for her lost sister.


	10. Chapter 10

Thalia was morbidly surprised that they hadn't tortured her physically. The majority of them had certainly and vocally wanted to. If not for Athena's orders they would've. Instead they were trying to convince her to turn on the gods by using psychology to convince her. Annabeth and Athena were the only people she'd seen since being removed from under the sky. 

"I know what will work to prove the truth to you," Athena smirked slyly at her. Thalia let out a huff and shifted in answer. She was doing her best to ignore Athena and turn Annabeth back but it was hard. She wasn't sure how much longer she'd last against the psychological torment. 

"Do you know _why_ I turned against Olympus?" 

Thalia tightened her jaw, refusing to acknowledge the woman. 

"Because of the Romans," the venom and loathing in Athena's voice had Thalia flinching in shock. "They deserve to suffer for my humiliation!" 

' _Definitely insane_ ,' Zeus' daughter nodded to herself. She wasn't able to refrain from speaking anymore. "You do realize that the Roman Empire died like, thousands of years ago, right?" 

Athena laughed coldly. "Oh, that's what the gods would have you believe. They fear another Civil War, you see. But no, the Empire is alive and thriving in the Bay Area. Living their lives unpunished for stripping me of my dignity!" Her voice rose to a shout as she spoke before abruptly she calmed to smile coolly at Thalia. 

The demigod squirmed. If the goddess was telling the truth than frankly she couldn't blame the Council for separating the two sets of half-bloods. There were enough problems with the Titans without adding Romans to the mix. 

"Don't you want to know," Athena breathed in Thalia's ear, making the captive feel shivers run up her spine. "What _really_ happened, to your poor, precious baby brother?" 

Thalia's head jerked around to look at her before she could stop herself. At the smug look in Athena's stormy grey eyes, she resumed staring at the opposite wall in silence. 

"He's alive you know," she whispered and Thalia felt her teeth grit together tightly. "He's a Roman so they took him away and said he died to keep you from looking for him. Even your precious Lady Akantha was there with Juno when she took him from your mother." 

"You're _lying_!" Thalia shrieked without realizing that she'd even done so. She could feel lightening dancing painfully under her skin, demanding to be released at the threat but kept inside by the Celestial Gold chains binding her. She cursed her loss of control at the coldly satisfied expression on the wisdom goddess' face. 

Before anything else could be said, Chris Rodriguez, one of the traitors, came hurrying up to the door of the cage Thalia was being kept in. 

"What?" Athena snapped angrily at him, eyes flashing dangerously. Chris flinched but gasped out his message. 

"The rescue team from Camp Half-Blood has arrived and are passing Ladon's tree, my Lady! The General ordered you be fetched with the prisoner." 

Athena scowled slightly but Thalia felt a jolt of relief and hope. After being hastily gagged she was roughly dragged from the cage where Rodriguez, two dracenae and an empousa took custody of her and 'escorted' her through a labyrinth of dark tunnels until they arrived at the entrance to the mountain summit where Annabeth and Atlas waited. 

The questers had their backs to them and the two huntresses were tugging frantically at Artemis' chains. The goddess herself was ordering them to leave. 

Atlas laughed coldly. "Aw, how touching," he said as he stepped forward. 

"Annabeth," Luke spat the name like a curse as grabbed the hilt of his sword. "Let Thalia go. Now." 

Annabeth looked genuinely pained as she shook her head. "I can't do that Luke," she told him. "Thalia needs to make the right decision." 

Luke glared bitterly at her. " _Traitor_ ," he snapped contemptuously at her, not letting his anguish touch his face. 

"So much for old friends," the General laughed coldly. "And Zoe, my traitorous daughter. It's been a long time, I'll enjoy killing you." 

"Do not respond," Artemis groaned. "Do not challenge him." 

"Let Artemis go!" Zoe demanded. Atlas smirked and strode forward. 

"Are you offering to take her place?" He raised an eyebrow as she began to reply. Artemis interrupted. 

"No! Do not offer Zoe! I forbid you!" 

Before anymore taunts could be exchanged, there was a flash of light and Akantha appeared. She was dressed for battle in a short Greek chiton, lace up sandals and Celestial Bronze armor. In her right hand, her ancient sword glowed softly and a shield emblazoned with her various exploits as a mortal was strapped to her other arm. 

Atlas's face twisted in rage. "You!" He spat. "How did you get here?" 

Akantha arched an eyebrow. "Enough strong, brave and loyal heroes were gathered here that I was able to appear via them. Where is Ares? I expected him here to uselessly gloat in an attempt to boost his ego." 

Athena scowled. "He is commanding the Princess Andromeda," she answered stiffly. "Soon he will arrive but you will be in Tartarus by then." 

Akantha attacked first, raising her sword and moving forward to quickly to see, striking out at Atlas before he and Athena could prepare themselves. 

She whispered inside the heroes' heads. _'Free Artemis, so that she may aid me. I can only fight them both for so long without another immortal's help. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to fight them. It is too dangerous.'_

Zoe turned to her mistress to tug frantically at the chains, Grover helping her. Bianca raised her bow and began picking off the monsters on the summit and climbing it. Luke rushed toward Thalia to free her, slashing through her chains. 

The daughter of Zeus slapped her bracelet, which she'd somehow managed to keep. It leaped to full size and she snatched up a fallen dracenae's spear. 

They fought back-to-back and decimated the monsters quickly but it was obviously not enough. Zoe had been forced to abandon her attempts to free Artemis in order to defend herself from Annabeth, Bianca was struggling to keep up with the tide of enemies, Grover had been knocked unconscious and Akantha was faltering in her own fight against the Titan and war goddess. 

Thalia and Luke exchanged quick looks and swiftly nodded at the plan they communicated to each other through their eyes. 

While Thalia went to attack the wisdom goddess, despite Akantha's mental protests, Luke rushed to Artemis and persuaded her to give him the sky. She rolled free and leaped into the battle. The tide turned quickly, Athena grabbing her daughter and disappearing after Atlas was forced back under the sky. 

"Zoe!" Bianca's cry had all of them rushing over in panic. Zoe was lying weakly on the ground, a savage hole in her stomach. "My Lady can't you do anything for her?" Bianca begged desperately even as Artemis and Akantha both held their hands out over the huntress' stomach. 

Everyone waited in tense silence. Even Thalia, who didn't particularly like Zoe, was worried for her. There was, after all, a huge difference between disliking someone and wishing them dead. Slowly, painstakingly slowly, the wound began to close. 

"Thank you, miladies," Zoe rasped as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "When I heard the Oracle say that one's fate would be decided by a parent's hand, I thought-" 

" _A_ parent," Akantha gently cut in. "Not _their_ parent. I am a parent too. Artemis acts as a mother to all her hunters. Now is not yet your time to go to Elysium, Zoe Nightshade. The world still needs you." 

"As I still need you," Artemis added, smiling softly at her handmaiden. Then she turned serious, looking at Akantha. "We must hurry or we will miss the Summer Solstice. Fates know what would happen then, they can't cast any votes on the war without all Councilors present." 

Akantha nodded back at her grimly. "Yes, if you would summon your chariot? I will ride with you, if you don't mind." 

Artemis nodded and strode toward the cliff's edge while Akantha returned her attention to the demigods. "Unfortunately, we cannot take you with us. However," she waved her hand and Bianca let out a surprised gasp, pointing out several shapes flying closer. 

They gradually became distinct, revealing they were five pegasi. "My pegasi will escort you to Mt. Olympus. The Council will want full details of what has happened. I will see you all soon." With that, she hurried off to join her fellow goddess on the silver chariot, leaving Thalia no chance to ask about the Romans. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time the demigods arrived on pegasi, the gods were debating what to do with the Ophiotaurus. Most of them wanted to kill it and be done with it all but Akantha was laying out a passion filled case for keeping him alive on Olympus. 

Finally, they agreed to keep him in a pool on Olympus, under guard by two centaurs who were most definitely not Party Ponies. 

Then they turned to the half-bloods to learn what had happened over the week. After the questers had finished they turned to Thalia. 

"And you Thalia?" Akantha asked her gently. "What happened to you over the week? I can't see any serious injuries." 

Thalia wet her lips and swallowed before answering. "They didn't really touch me," she said after a moment. "They wanted me to turn on you but I wouldn't. I, they said." She cut herself off in frustration before starting again. "Right before the battle, Athena came to speak with me." 

"What did she say, Daughter?" Zeus boomed, his brow crinkled in concern. 

"She said that there are Roman demigods in the Bay Area," Thalia told them hesitantly, seeing shock and dismay cross the faces of the gods. "And that," she faltered and felt Luke grasp her hand gently to encourage her. "That my baby brother Jason was alive and living with them." 

She peeked up through her lashes at the Council, who were exchanging looks. 

Eventually Zeus nodded and began to speak. "You must understand, when the Romans took over, we changed. The majority of us became militaristic and, more united. Athena however, did not. Instead she became goddess of arts and crafts and Bellona became goddess of warfare. She was humiliated and her Roman aspect, Minerva, has never been sane. Not really anyway. She's obsessed with one of her statues that was taken in the Sack of Athens. 

Athena never forgave the Empire for downgrading her. Every Civil War throughout history has been the result of Athena stirring up the feud. Eventually after the Civil War in the 1860's we decided that it could not continue. Both sets of heroes were separated and forbidden from crossing. When you did encounter each other on quests, you killed each other." 

"I wouldn't've killed Jason! Ever!" Thalia angrily protested. "I-" 

"Lady Hera," Akantha cut her off calmly, though her pursed lips and the cold look she sent toward the Queen gave away her true feelings. "Demanded Jason be given to her as her champion or she would kill you both. 

On top of that, Jason was young enough that he didn't attract many monsters but it would've gotten out of control as you both grew. Jason could not have gone to Camp Half-Blood, just as you could not go to the Roman Camp. We did what we believed best to keep you both safe and alive. But I am, truly, sorry for your grief. You did not deserve such pain."


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO**

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Camp had changed over the past few months. In addition to Peleus, two other dragons had been brought in to act as guards. The bunkers from the Civil War had all been revealed and re-opened by the gods. 

Cabin One's bunker mostly contained old battleplans and weapons in it but there were other things too. It was designed to not only be an escape route but to let you hide out for months on end. The Cabin 9ers were salivating in delight at the weapon designs their dead half-siblings had left behind. 

Automatons in the shape of various creatures wandered around under the careful eyes of the Hephaestus and the nature spirits all carried various weapons around. On top of all that, and the new rules that no one could be outside their cabins without at least one other person, a new teacher had been brought in to help Chiron. 

Thalia had been shocked to learn that Quintus was nearly thirty-years-old, the longest surviving demigod she'd ever heard of. She was even more shocked by him bringing in various scorpions and other large monsters for training and protection services. 

"Why do we even still bother with playing Capture the Flag?" She asked Luke bitterly as they traipsed through the forest. "We'll all be dead in a year anyway." 

"We're not going to lose the war Thalia," Luke snapped back, looking strained. "I know you, you'll make the right decision." 

Thalia bit her lip and glanced away. The pressure of being the one predicted to either save or destroy was getting on her. She sincerely hated Bianca, who had not only abandoned her baby brother, but also escaped any chance of being the Prophecy Child. 

Thalia would've done anything to see Jason again, but Bianca had abandoned Nico, who obviously adored her, without a second thought. _"Jason's alive,"_ she reminded herself. _"Save Olympus and they've agreed to start trying to merge the camps."_

That had been Akantha's promise. For now, the situation was too unstable to risk reuniting the camps, but if, _when_ they won the war, the gods would start trying to introduce them. Thalia wasn't good with patience but the thought of Jason being hurt or killed in another civil war held her back from simply tearing through San Francisco until she found the Romans. And maybe she was a little worried that he didn't remember her. Maybe. 

She had become so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the gap in the rocks until she tumbled headfirst down into the hole, screaming as she did so. 

"Thalia!" Luke yelled. "Are you okay? Can you hear me? Thalia!" 

"I'm fine," she yelled back, rubbing her head and leaning against the wall for support. "I'm in some kinda tunnel. It looks like it's been abandoned for years." 

"Could it connect to the Bunkers?" Luke asked and Thalia instinctively shook her head before realizing that he couldn't see her. 

"No, the style's wrong. I dunno what it is." 

"Can you climb back up?" 

"No, my ankle's at least twisted. It might be fractured and I definitely have a concussion. I can't get up on my own." 

"Alright," Luke answered. "I'll come down and get you up, then we'll report the tunnel to Chiron." 

He scrambled down but almost as soon as his feet touched the ground, the entrance to the cavern sealed itself and the place went dark. 

"Shit!" The two exclaimed in unison. 

"Well now what?" Thalia demanded grumpily, crossing her arms and wincing at the ache in her head and ankle. 

Luke sighed and shuffled around for a moment before finding and clicking on his flashlight. "Let me check you over first," he suggested. "Then we can try and find our way out of here." 

Thalia nodded and sat down as he approached her. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

"The Labyrinth," Akantha stared grimly at the scene. "The Labyrinth has an entrance straight into the heart of Camp Half-Blood. This is a disaster. Annabeth Chase was obsessed with the damn thing, she must have known about the entrance." 

Apollo nodded, a frown twisting his lips. "Do you know where Daedalus is now?" 

Akantha shook her head. "No. He forfeited his right to be called a hero when he murdered poor young Perdix. He has hidden himself somehow in that thrice-damned maze. I haven't been able to locate him since 1636." 

"Will he aide the Titans?" Hermes asked with an unhappy frown. "Athena _is_ his mother after all." 

The loyalty goddess pursed her lips. "I don't know if she would even accept him if he did go to her," she admitted. "She has always despised him for killing Perdix. Agata was her favourite daughter. But she might have decided that it was more important to take advantage of his knowledge. 

In any case, Athena knows as well as any god that all you need is a clear-sighted mortal if you want to navigate the Labyrinth. They don't need to get Ariadne's string when they could simply kidnap a clear-sighted mortal." 

"They won't consider it," Apollo predicted, an unfocused look on his face. "Not until they're truly desperate. Their arrogance is too strong." 

She nodded, frowning deeply. On the face of the mirror, Chiron and the other Greek campers were pulling Thalia and Luke from the tunnel. Thalia was protesting that they'd only been missing a few minutes. In reality, they'd been gone for over three hours. 

"Well we know what has to happen, don't we?" Hermes said finally after they'd been silently watching the half-bloods for several minutes in silence. 

"We have to order another quest," Akantha replied darkly. "This time into the Labyrinth." 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

 _ **Several thousand years B.C**_

_Lysander's favourite brother was Daedalus. The man himself was generally considered to be the cleverest of all of Athena's children, and the only one of her husband's siblings to agree with their marriage. All the others had condemned and disowned Lysander for his actions, save for Daedalus._

____

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_It was fitting, therefore, that Akantha be with his mortal wife as she laboured to birth their first child. ___

____

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_Eupraxia was a mortal twelve-year-old and the nearly thirty-four-year-old Daedalus' third wife. His first wife Phile had been a daughter of Aphrodite, killed by a Cerberus just three months after their wedding. His second wife Xanthippe was a granddaughter of Hecate who died in childbirth with a stillborn son. ___

____

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_Secretly, Akantha feared that her brother-in-law was cursed by the gods. He was clever and his fatal flaw of arrogance was strong in him. She worried over his frequent comments that he would discover how to become immortal. Truthfully, she was so worried because she thought he might actually succeed in his quest. ___

____

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_Eupraxia let out another scream and Akantha gave a subtle wince of sympathy. Her own son, Alekios, was four months old and Akantha stood firmly by her belief that nothing was as painful as giving life to another. Women deserved more credit for their efforts, in the daughter of Poseidon's opinion._

____

____

_"You're doing so well, my dear," she reassured the younger girl. Eupraxia simply sobbed in reply. As she reached for the water bowl to re-wet the cloth, Akantha spotted a worried look passing between the two midwives. "I'll be right back," she murmured gently to the mother-to-be, hurrying over to them. ___

____

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_"What's wrong?" She whispered urgently. "Are she and the baby well?"_

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_The elder midwife gave her a grim look. Theokleia was the most experienced and talented midwife in Greece, a daughter of Eileithyia. Daedalus had paid a fortune for her and her apprentice to travel to his home and deliver his child. ___

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_"She's not well Akantha," the woman answered softly. "She's too young for this. Her body doesn't have the strength."_

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_Akantha closed her eyes in grief. "And the child?" ___

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_Theokleia shrugged doubtfully. "It depends on whether or not Eupraxia can last long enough to push. But it's all in the hands of the Fates now."_

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_Akantha nodded slowly. "Let us make her as calm and comfortable as we can then," she breathed. "And try and let her see her baby before Thanatos comes for her." ___

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_Theokleia nodded solemnly and Akantha returned to her young sister-in-law's side. ___

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_"What's wrong?" Eupraxia panted out weakly. "Is it the baby?" ___

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_"The baby's going to be fine, dearest." Akantha soothed her, dabbing her forehead with a cloth. "I promise." ___

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_"Just one more push," Theokleia's apprentice, Rhode, declared. "You're almost there!" ___

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_Eupraxia sobbed her thanks to the gods before desperately screwing up her face and letting out her loudest scream yet. This time, instead of the sounds of worried murmuring, Theokleia let out a call of triumph as the newborn howled its protest at being brought into the world. ___

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_"What is it?" Akantha asked hastily. She knew Daedalus would not be pleased with anything less than a healthy boy. He was too vain to think that a girl would be a good exchange for his young and beautiful wife. ___

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_"It's a boy!" Rhode answered with a bright beam. "And as a healthy child I've never seen." ___

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_Eupraxia let out a breathless laugh, reaching out her weak arms for the sobbing infant. "Give him to me please," she begged. "Let me hold him once before I die." ___

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_The atmosphere went solemn at the reminder of Eupraxia's looming fate and Theokleia gently handed her the baby, adjusting the cushions so the young mother could support her baby. ___

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_"Beautiful," Eupraxia breathed, tears welling in her eyes. "My beautiful Icarus. May the Gods bless you my sweet boy." After giving him one kiss on his forehead, she leaned back, her chest stilling. ___

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_The three women bowed their heads respectfully, Akantha taking Icarus before he could fall from his mother's lifeless arms. ___

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_"I will present his son to Lord Daedalus," she sighed, wrapping him quickly in a white blanket before heading for the door as the midwives moved to begin cleaning the chamber. ___

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_Daedalus waited impatiently with Lysander and Herakles, a frustrated expression on his face. It said a lot about the man that Herakles was his closest friend and as far as Akantha was concerned, none of it was good. ___

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_She paused briefly to wish that Lysander wasn't so blinded by hero-worship of his brother before stepping forward, the precious bundle held close to her chest. ___

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_"Eupraxia's last words were that his name is to be Icarus," her voice was full of steel as she handed Daedalus the child. To the inventor's credit, he didn't hesitate. ___

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_"Then Icarus he will be," he agreed. "Icarus, grandson of Athena, son of Daedalus and Eupraxia." His expression was full of awe and love as he glanced down at his son. "Icarus," he repeated softly. "My son. At last, I have a son."_

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

The only redeeming factor Daedalus had had, as far as Akantha was concerned, was how much he loved his son. Even then, it was ruined by Icarus' death. His grief and bitterness had led to an innocent child being murdered, the inventor preferring his own sister be childless than to suffer the reminder of his own deceased child. Then the coward had hidden in his Fates-cursed maze, escaping the judgement he rightfully deserved. 

Akantha inhaled and exhaled deeply, reminding herself that both boys had been reborn. Icarus was now a son of Apollo's Roman aspect named Christopher Addams and Perdix was a mortal named William Hunter. They were safe and happy. 

She stepped into the rec room. Unlike the Romans, who conducted their meetings formally at the Senate building, the eldest Greek campers were gathered around the ping pong table with grim faced expressions. 

She frowned slightly when she saw Quintus standing in the corner with his arms crossed. He said he was an unclaimed demigod who had attended Camp Half-Blood in the late eighties for two summers. And she did remember him, but he felt strange to her. She didn't trust him, especially since they hadn't had any contact with him from the time he left Camp to his appearance at the border a month and a half ago. 

The half-bloods bowed their heads respectfully. 

"Mother!" Lena exclaimed, her face brightening. Lukas grinned happily at her as she quickly moved to them, taking advantage of the rare opportunity to embrace her children. 

"My darlings," she murmured as she pressed soft kisses into her childrens' hair. The others respectfully looked away until she reluctantly pulled away, though she kept her arms around the twins' shoulders. 

"You all know why I'm here," she said as she surveyed the room. The demigods gave nods and Thalia spoke up. 

"The Labyrinth," the daughter of Zeus offered. "You're here to order a quest." 

Akantha nodded. "Yes, I am," she agreed. "And Apollo has declared that Luke Castellan will lead it." 

They all darted at anxious looks the now-pale son of Hermes. Luke sighed and pressed himself off from the wall, raising his chin. 

"I'm honoured to have been chosen for this task," he said. "Will I go to the Oracle now?" 

Akantha nodded with a tired sigh. "Yes, it's better to get this done quickly. We don't know when the Titans will attack." 

The room was silent as they waited a tense ten minutes for Luke's return. When he finally did, his face was pale. Akantha stepped forward, releasing her children. 

"Well?" She asked. "what did she say?"Luke let out a shaky breath before he replied. 

_"You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,_

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_Watched over by the twins of loyalty's gaze._

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_You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand, ___

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_The child of Athena's final stand._

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_Destroy with a half-blood's final breath,_

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_And lose a brother to worse than death."_

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The silence seemed to scream as everyone looked at each other in horror, the dark prediction echoing grimly in their ears.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Reyna go on a quest.

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO, Rick Riordan does. Thanks for the reviews, they make my day. Here's part one of two chapters showing the Romans.**

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

While the Greeks were going on a seemingly-never ending string of quests to try and counter the threat of the Titans, the Romans were dealing with their own challenges. Since the rise of the Roman Empire, and the first time Olympus moved, Camp Jupiter had been placed to guard Mt. Othrys. And they did their duty well. 

But ever since Kronos had begun to reform, the Romans had been getting constant and vicious attacks. The number of half-bloods who survived the journey from the Wolf House had shrunk so much that at the last Solstice, the gods had agreed that escorts would be sent to help newly-discovered Romans reach their Camp. 

Two months before Thalia discovered the Labyrinth entrance in Camp Half-Blood, her younger brother, Jason, was doing exactly that. 

Jason arrived at Wolf House for the third time in four months. This time, he was travelling with Reyna to collect a fourteen-year-old granddaughter of Trivia who was also a sixth-generation descendant of Valeria on her mother's side. 

Everyone was getting to be wary of the descendants of the magic goddess because, as rumour had it, the goddess of magic had also defected from Olympus. Certainly, some of her children and descendants had slipped away in the middle of the night. Jason couldn't bring himself to believe the deity herself was a traitor though. It would not be good for Rome or for Olympus if yet another god had gone over to the Titans. 

"Are you finished daydreaming?" Reyna asked dryly and Jason blinked, jolting out of his thoughts. 

"Sorry," he said, fiddling with the sword hanging from his belt. "I'm just." He fell silent as Reyna nodded, eyes dark. 

"Yea," she murmured. "I know." Then she shook her head. "C'mon," she ordered, turning back in the direction of the House. "Let's get the girl and go. It'll be dark soon and Praetor Nikki wanted us back within the week." 

Jason hurried after her, quickly taking over the position of leader, as was his right as the senior legionnaire. Nikki Sullivan, the female Praetor, was already grooming Reyna as her successor, but she was still had two months left as a _probatio._

Save for two guard wolves crouched at the entrance, the courtyard was empty when they entered. Jason hid his discomfort. Lupa expected her trainees to maintain their composure at all times. She would not be pleased if Jason let something as simple as a deserted yard disconcert him. 

"Jason Evander Grace, son of Jupiter. And Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona." The two half-bloods spun, reaching for their weapons, only to instead fall on their knees at the sight of the woman standing behind them. 

She appeared to be in her mid-to-late twenties with long, raven-black hair that had a single streak of grey, done in elaborate curls with a laurel crown nestled in the dark locks. If it were Ancient Rome, she would be recognized instantly as a high-ranking lady purely by her hair. Her eyes were a stunning sea green colour and there was a faint scar going through her left eyebrow. She was dressed in a long silver toga with a gold belt and sandals and there was a serious expression on her Roman-esque face as she studied them seriously. 

It was Lady Valeria, Goddess of Heroes, Loyalty, Bravery, Honour and Strength, Patron of Martyrs and the West. Of all the gods, Valeria was one of the most respected. She had gained the titles goddess of honour and patron of martyrs and the west when the Romans had adopted the Olympians and was revered as the protector of heroes. There were six holidays dedicated to her alone. 

Before going on a quest, or even just leaving the camp's borders, heroes had to go to her shrine and spend the night in prayer to her, sacrificing some food or whatever in the hope that she would bless the journey. Neither demigod had ever seen her in person before, though Jason thought she looked oddly familiar for some reason. 

"My Lady," he said respectfully, keeping his head bowed. "We are honoured by your presence. How can we serve you?" 

Valeria raised her unscarred eyebrow slightly in amusement. "You may rise Children," she told them graciously. "Sit with me at the fountain. There is much to speak of and little time to do it in. You must hurry to save Camp Jupiter. It is in grave danger." 

Panic flashed through Jason before he stomped down on it. "What danger my lady?" He tried to keep the worry from his voice but Valeria gave him a sympathetic look anyway. 

"Minerva, the traitor, has sent a deadly monster to attack Camp Jupiter," she began in a gentle, but firm tone. 

"But, forgive my lady," Jason interrupted. "We've been getting attacked constantly for over a year, sometimes by miniature armies and we've repelled them. What's different about this monster?" 

Reyna had shot him an incredulous look when he cut across the goddess but Valeria herself looked approvingly at him. 

"This particular beast can only be killed by certain weapons. Back in the Ancient days, I personally blessed three weapons so as to allow for the monster to be killed the first time. He was banished deep into Tartarus and I didn't expect him to reform for another few centuries at least. The rise of Saturn is speeding up the reformation of old enemies." 

Her voice and expression were grim as she spoke and Jason felt a surge of worry for his home. If the goddess of strength herself was worried than things were in worse shape than he'd even suspected. 

Valeria carried on, the anxious demigods listening with tense looks on their young faces. _Too young_ , Valeria thought sadly. Demigods were always too young to face their destinies. These two were younger than her daughter Claudia. 

"The monster itself is also dangerous because it is an aquatic beast." 

The demigods frowned, wondering why the fact that it was a water monster made it more dangerous. If it was stuck in the water, wouldn't it be easier to defeat? In fact, how would it even reach the landlocked camp? 

Valeria felt her lips twitch slightly in amusement despite the grave circumstances. These two were a cute couple, hopefully Venus would be kind. Valeria would even speak on their behalf. The children deserved something good to cling to in the coming days. 

"It can breathe both in and out of water," Valeria continued, annoyed with herself for becoming distracted from the matter at hand. "Apollo has warned us that he forsaw it swimming up the Little Tiber and thus, avoiding the camp's barriers. And none of the weapons I blessed remain at camp. They were all lost over the years." 

"So what do we do?" Jason demanded. "Can you bless another weapon? We can't let Camp be destroyed!" 

Valeria waved her hand to settle him. "I swear to you Jason, I will not allow such a thing. I cannot, for various reasons, bless anymore weapons in the way required, but I can send you to get one of the ones I blessed back." 

"But I thought you said they were lost," Reyna asked hesitantly, wary of angering the goddess. Valeria simply smiled encouragingly at her however, answering gently. 

"They were. One was destroyed several centuries ago, during the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Then most recently one was lost in Michael Varus' expedition to Alaska. Neither of them can be retrieved. But one can be. It was lost in a battle during the Civil War but I know it's location. Rome has redeemed itself for what happened during that battle. 

I kept the location secret as punishment for the group of Romans who lost it supporting the Confederacy in that battle, despite my ordering they avoid becoming involved." Irritation had crept into her voice as she explained. 

Neither of the camps had actually supported a side in the Civil War, the Mist had simply made it appear that the Greeks were Unionists and the Romans Confederates. Several times during the war either set of heroes would lend aid to one side or the other but that particular group had gone directly against Valeria's instructions during that particular fight. 

They had paid by having her refuse to give the location of the lost weapon to them. Seeing as they'd still had the blessed crossbow at the time, she had considered a mild punishment. Now things were different and so Jason Grace would be granted the right to wield her blessed double-formed weapon. 

"There are other weapons with it," she added. "I advise you take as much as you can back to Camp with you. Fates know it's needed." 

_'And afterwards,'_ she continued mentally. _'I will show that traitorous augur and his family what happens when you attempt to usurp the gods.'_

The Lux family would face serious consequences for their actions. Claiming that the ability to create Imperial Gold had been taken by the gods as punishment purely for the sake of gaining more power! And Octavian making false claims of being blessed by Apollo with the gift of telling the future. Yes, he had some psychic ability, but certainly not enough to be augur. 

_'He **will** be punished,'_ she repeated to herself, forcing her attention back to the two worried Romans. "The weapons are in the Battery, in Atlanta. The two of you will go with Katelyn, Trivia's legacy and retrieve the weapon. Apollo puts the monster's arrival at two weeks from now. You will sense the weapon's power when you're close enough. It will draw whomever of you is best suited to it." She waved her hand and three backpacks appeared. "These are all the supplies I can provide you. May the Fates preserve you both." 

With that they all stood and she began to glow, the half-bloods snapping their eyes shut. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

Valeria must have tampered with the truck that they were using, because it went well above normal speeds. Somehow, they got from the Wolf House to Bakersfield in only five hours of driving. Finally, though, swapping drivers wasn't enough and they pulled up at the first motel that they came across. Some liberal use of the Mist by Katelyn, or Kat as she called herself, later and they were stumbling into a room. 

They paused on entry. "There's only two beds," pointed out Jason. "Who gets the floor?" 

The girls shot him exasperated looks. "There's a pull-out right there," Kat told him, gesturing at the rolled-up mattress standing in the corner. 

"Oh," Jason blinked dumbly, wrestling with his exhaustion. "I'll take it then." Reyna scowled slightly, suspecting that he was only offering to take the mattress because of the others being girls. But she was too tired and disciplined to argue with him so she let it go, instead stumbling to the bed beside the window. 

All of them fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows. They were so tired that none of them noticed the ghostly figures who had been following them since leaving the Wolf House. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

Bryce Lawrence, great-grandson of Orcus, God of Punishment, hated Valeria more than anyone else in existence. His grandfather, Antonius Lawrence, had been banished by the goddess on the grounds of him being 'too cruel and sadistic to do anything other than bring disgrace to the Legion'. By default, his descendants were also barred from joining the Legion. 

As such, when Mars had appeared and offered him the opportunity for revenge, he had leapt at it. And _this_ was his chance to get it. 

"What happened?" He demanded of his ghostly servant. The spectre was one of the two he had sent to follow the demigods who had been speaking with Valeria. The other was staying behind to keep watch on the group. 

The ghost, a good enough man who'd broken his wedding vows and was now paying for it, glared bitterly at him as he answered unwillingly. "They've taken a room at a motel in Bakersfield for the night," he admitted bitterly. "They're planning on continuing on their journey to Atlanta tomorrow. They hope to at least get to Phoenix by sunset tomorrow." 

A slow smile spread across Bryce's face. "Are they now," he murmured. "Such a shame they won't make it there."


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Romans arrive in Atlanta and tragedy quickly strikes.

**Disclaimer: PJO/HOO/TOA all belong to Rick Riordan.**

_"How dare you!" Valeria's voice was full of ice as she stared down contemptuously the guy chained in the centre of the Senate._

_Jason guessed he was about nineteen, and the date of the scene he was watching was sometime in the late sixties, maybe the early seventies. Probably the sixties though, from the clothes and hairstyles._

_"My lady, please," the guy begged. "You are known as the most merciful of all the gods. Please-"_

_"Enough!" Valeria barked, her eyes dark in fury. "You dare to seek mercy from me! You, the man who murdered my granddaughter! I have none!"_

_Valeria's granddaughter, the late sixties, a guy in his late teens who'd murdered the girl. The pieces slotted together in Jason's mind. Although she had quite a few legacies, Valeria had only ever had thirteen children, one of whom was born in Ancient Greece when she was still mortal. Maria Olt, who'd become semi-legendary in Hungary for her work saving Jews in WWII, was the last before Claudia's birth._

_In 1968, Maria's youngest daughter, twelve-year-old Alena had been murdered by Antonius Lawrence, a son of Orcus. He'd been known as a cruel and sadistic man even before then, and Alena's murder was the last straw._

_The goddess stared down at the cowering at her feet. "Antonius Lawrence," she declared, voice hard and full of fury. "You have brought disgrace upon yourself, and all of your relatives, both mortal and immortal. You dared to not only kill an innocent child, but to torture her before that."_

_There was a loud sob and Jason glanced over. They were in the Senate, the two praetors and the Senators themselves all wearing grave expressions. The viewing stands were full, with a woman with grey-streaked hair and Valeria's aqua-coloured eyes having made the sob._

_From her features, Jason was sure he was seeing Maria Olt, the murdered girl's mother. Lady Valeria also looked towards her daughter, a look of pain crossing her face at the sight of her daughter's grief. Her expression hardened as she returned her attention to the prisoner._

_"You," she said darkly, her voice shaking with fury. "Have enraged me in such a way as I have not felt for centuries. Hear now the judgment of Olympus. Any who protest will be banished from the borders of this Camp."_

_There was a ripple of gasps at that and Jason couldn't really blame Maria for her viciously eager expression as she awaited the sentencing of her child's killer._

_"You, Antonius Lawrence," Valeria declared icily. "Are too cruel and sadistic to do anything other than disgrace the Legion. And you have proven you are too dangerous to simply be banished. Surely all you would do was attack the helpless mortals._

_As such, you will be executed, and your soul escorted directly to the Fields of Punishment where you will spend eternity suffering the same tortures that you visited on my granddaughter._

_And as for your wife," she turned her cold and unforgiving gaze on a woman of about twenty, pregnant and terrified as she clutched her swollen stomach. "You will be banished from Camp Jupiter, and all shelters for heroes. You, and all your descendants, will forever be_ _**Aquae et Ignis Interdictio.** _ _And be grateful I have not made you_ _**Deportatio."** _

_The woman broke down into sobs, swearing on the River Styx that she hadn't known her husband had murdered Alena, vowing her loyalty to Olympus and Rome. Valeria had no sympathy on her face, staring coldly at the woman for a moment before ordering the gods to remove her._

_When she was gone and the room once again, Valeria strode to her daughter, laying a hand against the tearstained cheek._

_"My beautiful child," she murmured gently. "Do you wish to pass the sentence?"_

_Maria's eyes blazed with vengeful delight as she nodded. "Nothing would please me more, save the return of my child," she spat. Valeria smiled and waved her hand. A pilum appeared in her hand and she gave to Maria._

_The grieving mother grasped it tightly and made her way to the chained son of Orcus. He glared bitterly at her._

_"She screamed, you know," he hissed spitefully at her. Rage took over Maria's face, and she screamed in fury as she lifted the pilum and stabbed him in the stomach. He choked, blood spurting from his mouth as she let go and dropped it to the floor. Her chest heaved as she stared down at him._

_"Now," she spat at him. "Let_ _**you** _ _be the one to slowly die in agony. And may your suffering continue for all eternity!"_

Jason sat up with a gasp, blue eyes wide with shock.

* * *

"So you dreamed about the execution of Antonius Lawrence?" Reyna frowned. "I thought demigod dreams were usually about the current situation. Shouldn't you have dreamt of the monster, or Lady Valeria's weapons? Why _Lawrence_ of all things? What does he have to do with anything?"

Jason shrugged, wearing his own frown of confusion. "Yes, but it was definitely the real thing. I'm sure of it."

"Maybe it _is_  linked to our quest," Kat suggested, twirling a light brown curl around her finger. "Think about it," she added at their confused looks. "Antonius' wife was pregnant when she was banished, right?"

Jason nodded, still confused.

"Well they still had their scent," Kat pointed out. "Just no shelter. They were probably on the run from monsters constantly, and neither Mrs. Lawrence nor her baby did anything wrong. She swore on the Styx she didn't know what he did. Seems like a prime recipe for resentment against the gods to me. Easy pickings for the Titans."

She sat back in her chair, her amber eyes grave with the seriousness of the situation.

"So you think that Lawrence's kid, or grandkid have joined the Titans," Jason said slowly. "And they're what, the one controlling the monster? Or trying to sabotage our quest?"

Kat shrugged and Reyna tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"It's a strong possibility," the daughter of Bellona mused. "Camp Jupiter didn't bother keeping track of Mrs. Lawrence after she was exiled as far as I know. And you're right that his descendants would be prime candidates for Titan recruits.

Still, what can we do about it? And is it our quest that they're planning on sabotaging, or is it something else we don't know about? And who is Lawrence's descendant? We don't even know if they're a boy or a girl, let alone their age or powers, if any. We can't plan a counterattack without that information."

"You're right," Jason sighed. "We'll use the payphone to call Camp and update the praetors. Then we'll keep heading to Atlanta. There's nothing else we can do."

* * *

A smirk crossed Bryce's face as he watched the three quest mates through the one-way IM. It was such a handy thing, and the fact that it was Greek made him even fonder of it. Anything to agitate Rome, after all.

"I've changed my mind," he announced to his 'companions'. The group consisted of another demigod, a Greek son of Hecate named Alabaster Torrington, an empousa named Kelli with her apprentice Tammi and three dracenae.

"Oh?" Torrington drawled, studying his nails indifferently.

"Yes," Bryce smirked. "We're going to let them get to Atlanta and we'll even help them get there alive. Then, when they think that they're safe. That's when we'll attack."

The dracenae all giggled and Tammi smirked while Kelli draped herself over him.

"What a clever idea," she cooed. Torrington simply nodded curtly, striding out to make arrangements for the new plan. Bryce smirked and pressed his lips to Kelli's.

_'It's true what they say, revenge does taste so sweet,'_  he thought smugly, his eyes glinting maliciously.

* * *

It was disturbing how easily they got to Fort Worth in Atlanta. Sure, they fought off a few different attacks, but it didn't seem right that they were only attacked five times in the over thirty-three-hour long journey from California to Atlanta. Especially given Jason's powerful scent as a son of Jupiter.

And the attacks themselves were relatively minor, three Hellhounds, one of which appeared to be the pup of the two grown mates, a single Strix, a flock of Caladriusi, two venti and an empousa.

The lack of attacks made paranoia spring up in the three questers, in turn making their ADHD act up as instincts screamed for battle. Instead of fighting, they were stuck in a small car with the ever-growing sense that they were walking straight into a trap. By the time they got to Atlanta, they practically flew out of the car in desperation to escape.

"Alright," Jason decided. "We'll head for Fort Sumter. Lady Valeria said the weapon was lost during a battle in the Civil War. It makes sense to check the fort out for-"

He was cut off by Kat letting out a yell of alarm as she shoved him to the side. He spun, unsheathing his sword just in time to see an arrow go through her throat. If she hadn't pushed Jason, it would've hit him right in his collarbone. At that angle, and without any medics available, he would've died immediately. As it was, Katelyn Striker, who'd never even gotten a chance to be officially made a probatio, was the one to die instead.

Shock and grief for the girl who had quickly become their friend overtook both Jason and Reyna and it was only their intense Legion training that got them to move. Realizing the danger of staying in their position, from both their ambusher and the mortal authorities, they rushed away, forced to abandon Kat's body. Jason glanced back briefly and was just in time to see it disappear in a shower of silver.

He sent up a silent prayer of thanks, relieved as he realized that Lady Valeria must have taken her legacy's body away before anyone else could get their hands on it. Then he turned his attention back to running away with Reyna at his side.

They finally decided that it safe to stop at The Battery, hiding themselves in the large mix of shops and restaurants. Reyna had a stoic expression fixed on her face, trying with all her might to keep from breaking down. She shuddered as she touched her cheek, nearly gagging as she realized that the wetness was the result of Kat's blood being sprayed on her face.

"I saw her body dissolve," Jason finally spoke. His own voice was numb as he processed Kat's death.  _'Mea culpa_ ' he thought bleakly.

Not only was Jason the leader of the quest, but Kat had died saving him from an arrow he was too foolish to see. He'd as good as killed her himself, when the whole reason he and Reyna had gone to the Wolf House was to escort her safely to camp. He closed his eyes tightly as a fresh wave of grief washed over him.

Reyna glanced at him, the boy who had become her closest friend since her arrival, and reached out to grab his hand tightly in her own, staring straight ahead and not meeting his gaze.

"We need to find the weapons," she finally announced, eyes dull. "We need to make sure that she didn't," her voice faltered briefly. "Die in vain."

Jason nodded, closing his own eyes for a second and, before his training could stop him, pulling Reyna into a quick, desperate hug.

"I'm glad you're okay," he breathed into her hair as she returned the hug with a shaky sigh. Suddenly, Reyna pulled away, staring around frantically.

"I saw something!" She exclaimed, raising her spear as she scanned the area. Trusting her judgement, Jason also raised his sword and began searching for threats.

"I assure you both," a gentle voice came from behind and they quickly turned around. "I am no threat to either of you."

The woman they saw was absolutely beautiful. Shewas elegant without trying, fashionable without effort, stunning without makeup.

To Jason, she had Roman features, dark chestnut hair and the violet eyes. Other than that, he was embarrassed to glance at his friend and realize the goddess looked very similar to Reyna.

To Reyna herself, on the other hand, Venus had looked like a supermodel, with sharp, graceful features, blonde curls and electric blue eyes. Spying Jason from the corner of her eyes, se silently promised herself not to mention those facts to the son of Jupiter.

She smiled at them as they fell into bows at the sight of her. She had originally intended Jason for her Greek daughter Piper, knowing of the plan to re-integrate the camps and thinking that the relationship would help it go smoother. She'd made no solid plans for the praetor-to-be, planning on waiting a while to decide who to pair Reyna with.

Now, however, Valeria had convinced her to change her mind. Jeyna was such a cute name too! Piper would do well with someone more relaxed than a Roman, and maybe one of Akantha's twins could be a bridge between the camps romantically.

Her son Michael Kahale was a centurion for the First Cohort. And he was about the same age as Lena and Lukas after all, and her friend's children had always been good at getting along with people, no matter what heritage they had.

"Reyna," Venus continued. "Come with me. I have an assignment for you. Jason Grace, you will go on to Fort Sumter. There you will find what you need. If, you defeat your foe. He waits for you at there."

Jason had a look of dismay as he heard the order. He cast a worried look at Reyna, but nodded reluctantly. Bowing again, he turned and headed away, jogging in the direction of Fort Sumter. As his form disappeared, the goddess turned to look assessingly at the nervous daughter of Bellona.

"Come, Reyna," she directed. "Let's walk as we talk." She winked as she rhymed and Reyna gave an anxious smile. The goddess linked their arms and they walked to the beach in silence. Every so often, Venus stopped to examine a display and make comments about it, but the 'conversation' only turned serious after they arrived at the nearby beach.

"You love Jason," the goddess announced calmly, turning to look the thirteen-year-old in the eye. Reyna went pale and opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to find something to say. Venus smiled sympathetically at her, squeezing Reyna's hand.

"Don't worry, Dear," Venus assured her. "Most mortals wouldn't find their one and only's at such a young age, but for demigods it's different. A mortal girl your age would often find their end-of-year exams the most pressing problem of the moment. For you, you're worried about the lives of yourself and your friends. You're mature enough to be in love."

Reyna nodded helplessly, at a loss to figure out what was going on. "Thank you, milady," she ventured carefully, making Venus give her a heart stopping beam.

"I like you Reyna," she announced. "You're the perfect Roman soldier, and more loyal than many who grow up in New Rome, though you're still a probatio. So, I'm going to do something for you."

She pointed towards a herd of horses, grazing on the park at the edge of the beach.

"If you can tame Scipio," Venus told her. "I will personally see to it that you gain your heart's desire."

"But, isn't that dishonourable?" Reyna questioned warily. Venus raised a perfect eyebrow at her in query. "If I only get it because you make it happen-"

"Oh Child," Venus cut her off. "Do you believe that the love you have for your sister is real?"

Reyna nodded without hesitation and Venus smiled gently at her.

"I oversee  _all_  matters of love and the heart," she explained. "It is due to my influence that you feel love toward Hylla. That doesn't mean it isn't real. I won't be creating love for you in Jason's heart, only ensuring that it is properly nurtured. I swear on the River Styx, if that makes you feel better."

Reyna exhaled in a puff, feeling overwhelmed. Jason, in love with her? It seemed too good to be true. "I tame a horse," she stated doubtfully. "And I get my heart's desire in exchange?" There had to be a catch. And her suspicions were confirmed by the sadness in Venus' eyes.

"Not quite, my dear," she answered. "Consider receiving your heart's desire as a consolation for what's to come."

"What's to come?" Reyna asked immediately, turning to look back at Venus when she didn't answer. The goddess was gone. Swallowing, Reyna turned back to where she could see the herd, and began making her way towards it. She would think about the 'what's to come' comment later. When her best friend and her home weren't in danger.

**Index:**

**Probatio: a** **position given to the lowest and newest ranking legion members of** **Camp Jupiter.**

_**Aquae et Ignis Interdictio:** _ **Literally meaning 'debarred from fire and water", the second tier of Ancient Roman exile was similar to the first in the sense that the exsul had no permanent place of residency.** **viii** **However, aquae et ignis interdictio differed in terms of duration and rights. The victim lost the civil rights that came with Roman citizenship and their property was confiscated. The dersignation aquae et ignis interdictio occasionally was applied to unique cases of voluntary exile, or self-banishment. Despite voluntary departure, the person was stripped of rights and property.**

_**Deportatio:** _ **was the most extreme case of banishment. It required forcible removal to a fixed place, most commonly an island in the Mediterranean, usually for** **life.** **ix** **The English word deportation means "to expel (a foreigner) from a country, typically on the grounds of illegal status or for having committed a crime."** **x** **Deportation is a common practice among countries today, and the American government deports hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants every year.**

**Strix:** **a bird of ill omen, the product of** **metamorphosis** **,** **that fed on human flesh and blood.**

**The Caladrius: a snow-white bird that lives in the king's house.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO/TOA**

* * *

Jason walked into Fort Sumter, making copious use of his training to carefully sneak around the security. Then he stopped to look anxiously around, running a hand through his hair as he tried to decide where to go.

"Ah! Jason Grace, son of Jupiter," a voice exclaimed. "I have waited a long time to fight a worthy opponent. I hope you will put up a decent fight before I kill you."

Jason spun, and paused to stare at the monster in front of him. The man was tall and grizzled, a smug expression on his face.

"Who are you?" Jason asked cautiously, resting his hand on the pommel of his sword. The man smirked viciously at him.

"Who am I? I am Aigaios, the  _true_  ruler of the seas! And now, demigod scum, you will die!"

"How are you planning on killing me?" Jason asked quickly. "I haven't challenged you!"

Aigaios paused, evidently having forgotten that tiny detail before he scowled and pointed his dark staff at the demigod.

"Challenge me!" He demanded. "And then I will kill you and send your head to Jupiter as proof of the Titans' superiority! I will win the bet and be named king of the casinos!"

"Right," Jason answered slowly, trying to think. He wasn't arrogant to claim that he could beat a Titan of all things in combat, and if he didn't get the weapon, Camp Jupiter would fall. That meant he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Let's compromise," he suggested, a plan forming in his mind. "A bet."

Aigios looked reluctantly intrigued at the offer. "What sort of bet?"

Jason licked his lips as he continued with his spur-of-the-moment plot. "You bring your best three warriors to fight me, one by one," he offered. "If they beat me, then I'll fight you. You'll kill me and become king of the casinos. But, if I win, I'm allowed to take whatever I want from your armoury."

Aigios chuckled happily, giving a cheerful nod. "An excellent idea, son of Jupiter. I'll agree to your terms." His face darkened into a dangerous sneer, and Jason felt dread twist in his stomach as he felt the aura of power radiating from the man.

"But, I warn you, Jason Grace," Aigios boomed, waving his hand and transporting them to an old sports stadium, the seats filled with monsters. "Cross me, and you  _will_  regret it!"

* * *

While Jason was dealing with Aigios, Reyna was creeping up to the herd of horses nearby. She had never been so near a horse before. Her father had kept Hylla and herself away from them as he was highly allergic, Circe disliked animals in general and Camp Jupiter looked down on cavalry fighters.

She looked at the horses nervously, wondering what to do. Which was Scipio, and how would having him help the quest? The answer to the first question came quickly as she spotted one of the animals at the edge of the group.

He was the colour of peanut butter, tall and elegant looking. Strength radiated from him. And, raising from his shoulders to shake themselves, were a pair of gorgeous wings. Reyna was speechless at the sight of him, and she spent an embarrassing few minutes just staring at him before she snapped out of her daze.

She began carefully making her way toward the pegasus, only for him to suddenly buck when she got in range.

"Woah! Woah, easy boy!" Reyna called, stumbling to avoid either falling or being injured by his sharp hooves.

He neighed, skittering back from her a bit. There, he held his ground in an offensive pose. Reyna had no doubt that if she didn't figure out a way to make him trust her, she would sooner be killed by him than riding him. She bit her lip for a minute before an idea began forming in her mind.

Carefully, so as not to startle any of the horses, she began to back away. Once out of the horses' reach, she turned and started to run for the nearby shopping area.

* * *

Jason, meanwhile, was facing down his first opponent. It was a demigod son of Trivia apparently, and Jason had thought of Kat immediately upon the announcement. But Kevin Harker was very different from his recently killed niece.

He had dark hair, with eyes that were so brown they seemed black. A feeling of absolute hatred seemed to radiate from him as he aimed his pilum at Jason.

"Time to die, Olympian scum," he spat, before suddenly waving a hand and splitting into three. He laughed as Jason's eyes widened in dismay at the sudden increase in enemies.

"Like my little trick?" The middle Kevin smirked.

"My gifts from my mother Trivia," the right Kevin added.

"I have complete control over my illusions," the left Kevin continued.

"So, which of us is real?" The three asked in unison. Jason clenched his jaw, eyeing each of the Kevins and gripping his sword tighter.

"Let the tournament begin!" Aigios proclaimed from his seat in the announcer's box.

The three Kevin's all attacked together, and Jason struggled to counter. As a Roman, he was trained for combat with help, and while he was able to fight on his own, he still had trouble with it.

His sword clashed with the first Kevin's staff before he spun and jabbed the one behind him through the neck. That Kevin disappeared, but the others all waved their hands in unison, conjuring another to replace the lost clone. The pattern continued, with Jason gaining a broken arm, though at least it wasn't his dominant, and finally he disengaged to think.

Any of the injuries he inflicted on the real Kevin simply appeared on the clones too, and each time a clone died they were replaced by a wave of Kevin's hand. And Jason couldn't afford to try and wait until Kevin was worn down, not with two more opponents to face and Reyna in an unknown danger. He glanced down at his sword, chewing over his new plan.

It was dangerous, Jason had always struggled with his electrokinesis more than his aerokinesis. But did he have a choice, with his friends all counting on him? With Reyna counting on him? Put like that, Jason knew what he had to do.

He looked back up at the Kevins, who smirked at him like a set of evil identical triplets.

"Ready to die, son of Jupiter?" They called mockingly, and Jason's expression hardened. He didn't realize, but he looked just like Jupiter when passing sentence on traitors to the gods.

"No," he informed them, raising his sword to the sky. "But I hope that  _you_  are."

With that he closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could. There was a hard pulling sensation in his gut, and a large bolt of lightning came crashing down towards the ground where he stood. It connected with his sword, and he aimed the weapon in the Kevins' direction. The bolt split into three, each connecting with a Kevin.

The boys, wearing stunned and horrified expressions, screamed in pain. Two disappeared in brief flashes of light, while the one on the right collapsed to his knees with a choked gurgle. He fell to the side, and Jason swallowed back the bile in his throat at the death-stare he was receiving from the deceased demigod.

Aigios had a stony expression on his face as he stood. "The first round goes to Jason Grace, son of Jupiter!" He declared, to a loud chorus of boo's and cheers. "Next opponent, Sess, Queen of the Dracanae!"

Jason braced himself, hiding his exhaustion as he studied his new enemy. She, like all dracanae, looked like a reptilian woman with snakes for legs. She carried a spear and a sword, and wore an arrogant sneer on her face.

"Demigod," she hissed. Jason shivered slightly in disgust at the raspy voice. "I sssshall enjoy your death! I loathe ssssonsss of Jupiter."

"Most monsters do," Jason muttered, too tired to guard his tongue. She scowled, though he wasn't exactly sure what about his statement had angered her, and lunged. This fight, though, was simple. A few swipes of the blade and she was decapitated, making the crowd groan in disappointment.

"No, no, son of Jupiter!" Aigios exclaimed, fury on his face. "That wasn't long enough! The bet was lost! Outrageous, keep your fights interesting and to a minute of five minutes! It isn't entertaining if you don't!"

Jason bowed to hide his eyeroll. "I beg your forgiveness, my lord," he apologized. "My last fight will be sufficiently enjoyable, I swear."

Aigios nodded sharply, still wearing an annoyed expression. "Very well," he decided. "Your third, and final opponent shall be..." He trailed off with a thoughtful look before smirking dangerously. Jason was instantly alarmed, and rightly so.

"Bryce Lawrence, Legacy of Orcus!" A boy strode confidently into the arena, and Jason's eyes doubled in size, his mind rushing back to their earlier conversation.

_"Well they still had their scent," Kat pointed out. "Just no shelter. They were probably on the run from monsters constantly, and neither Mrs. Lawrence nor her baby did anything wrong. She swore on the Styx she didn't know what he did. Seems like a prime recipe for resentment against the gods to me. Easy pickings for the Titans."_

Bryce was tall and dressed in full Imperial Gold armour, and had a mop of brown hair over his cruel eyes, which were green like pond scum. His broken nose makes his smug and twisted smile look even more sinister, and his two front teeth were different shades of yellow.

"You're Antonius Lawrence's grandson," Jason accused him. "Aren't you?"

The boy smirked smugly at him, making Jason stiffen in suspicion.

"Yes, I am," he agreed. "And now, I will finally gain revenge for Rome's crimes against my family!"

"Maybe your grandmother shouldn't have been banished," Jason acknowledged. "But Antonius deserved what he got for betraying the gods."

"My grandfather was one of the best!" Bryce snarled, a wild look lighting his eyes. "He was framed by jealous Romans! I should be Emperor, and under Lord Saturn, I will be! And I will see all you Romans beg for the mercy my grandmother never got!"

He slammed his pilum on the ground, and a dozen ghostly forms rose from the ground, solidifying into zombie-like forms.

"Attack!" Bryce screamed. "Kill the Roman!"

The zombies descended on him, and Jason was instantly struggling to keep from being overwhelmed. Jason was a son of Jupiter, tired, and injured. The zombies were fresh, unkillable, and driven by Lawrence's intense hatred of anything Roman.

He fought for what seemed like hours before pulling back to reassess his position. A glint from the announcer's box caught his eye, and he half-turned to it.

Hanging from a string on Aigios' neck was a single gold coin. Jason couldn't make out any details, but as he stared at it, he became utterly convinced that it was the weapon. The whole point of their quest. Right there. If he could just get to it-

His thoughts were cut off by another attack from his enemies. He struggled, calling down as much lightning as he dared, flying through the air with his sword clashing against his enemies. But it wasn't enough. He was too tired and weakened by his previous attacks. Jason was just beginning to fear that he was too far gone to fight when he heard flapping wings.

He glanced up, fearing another attack, this time from the air. Instead, he saw his blessing. Flying at him, wielding her sword with lethal efficiency, was Reyna. Her braid flew after her as she raced through the air towards him on a peanut butter coloured pegasus.

Jason grinned, and summoned the last vestiges of his strength to fly upward. She grabbed his hand, helping scrambling on board the flying horse.

"Good timing," he shouted into her ear. "Go for Aigios!"

"Are you mad?" She called back. "We need to retreat!"

"The weapon is around his neck!"

Reyna nodded, accepting his words. She turned toward the Titan, and they flew straight at him. He yelled, but couldn't do anything as Jason used the winds to snatch the coin off of his neck. That was when they finally retreated, dodging attacks the whole way.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Reyna finally return to Camp Jupiter to confront the Trojan sea monster.

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO/TOA. BTW I belatedly realized that Jason had canonically gone to Aeolus looking for information on a sea monster, probably the Trojan one. It's too late to change it now though, so just remember this is an AU.**

* * *

Scipio, as it turned out, was stunningly fast. A journey that would've taken a few more days by land instead only took six hours. Not that those six hours were quiet, of course.

They were attacked several times by flocks of Stymphalian birds, both of them, being unexperienced riders, fell off at least twice, leading to Jason having to save them with his powers and, at one point, a bird neither of them recognized came up to them and started singing what sounded like a mating call. Finally, though, they arrived at Camp Jupiter. And it was under attack.

Rising from the Little Tiber was one of the most hideous serpents Jason had ever seen. It was around the length of a large commercial airplane and it had ugly scales with a mix of green, black, brown and grey colours on them. Sharp yellowy-orange spikes rose all the way from its' head down to the end of its' four tails. Jason was sickened to realize that many of the spikes as well as its' two claws were tipped with blood in various stages of dryness. A large horn was stuck in the middle of of its' forehead, and its' were solid black, save for the blood-red coloured pupils. When it opened its' mouth it revealed three rows of vicious yellow fangs. The teeth were also bloodstained. At that very moment it was chewing up some poor unfortunate half-blood, shaking them around roughly before finally flinging the body away to land in a heap on the bloodstained grass.

The alarm was ringing frantically throughout the Camp and a large group of legionnaires, led by Praetor Nikole Mikaelson and her counterpart Robert Michaels, surrounded the monster, attempting to attack it. Unfortunately, as Hercules himself had discovered, the Ketos Troi's scales were too thick to be pierced even by Imperial Gold. Jason closed his eyes briefly in grief and pain as he spotted the other bodies dotting the ground, evidence that they had arrived far too late.

"We need to land!" Reyna called to him. "I'm not a good enough rider to dodge the bolts if the crossbowmen fire on us!"

"Ok! Land here then!" Jason yelled back over the roaring sounds of the rushing wind. He jumped off, making Reyna yelp softly, and manipulated the winds to shoot him towards the fight.

He dropped down beside Nathan and Nikki, where the part of the group of defenders had pulled back to debate their next move. The crossbowmen were trying to cover them, though from the looks of it, their attack was only angering the serpent.

"Jason!" Leila exclaimed first. "You're back! Where're Reyna and the new girl?"

Jason stiffened and put on an impenetrable mask of control on his face. "Reyna's parking our transport, Kat didn't make it."

Nikki cursed. "Can you two still fight? Did you succeed in your quest?"

"Yes Praetor," Jason assured her immediately. "We're fine, and I have the weapon." He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the coin. Jacob frowned at the small item.

"How do you activate it?" He asked with a deep frown. The legacy of Mars had rarely done anything else lately of course. Ever since Mars' defection, his children and legacies had gone from being respected to being treated with contempt.

Any attempts to ease the ostracization by the Praetors and Jason was undermined by Octavian and his group. Jason guessed that by now, the only thing keeping the descendants of Mars at Camp Jupiter was the remainder of their honour and the desire to see Octavian dead in a ditch. And their oaths too, of course.

Case in point, Larry sneered condescendingly at Jacob. The arrogant son of Mercury had disliked the Mars descendants ever since Stacey Croyden, one of Mars' daughters had broken his nose and left arm in a fight, and he had taken swift advantage of their disgrace.

"Obviously he knows," Larry scoffed. "He wouldn't have returned with being certain of success. Unlike  _some_ , Jason is completely loyal to Rome."

"Enough, Larry," Robert barked. "Everyone here is a trusted member of the Twelfth Legion. A battlefield is  _not_  the place for petty feuds. Now Jason, what's your plan?"

Jason tensed. Everyone was looking hopefully at him, and he was wary of admitting that he had no idea how to use the weapon. Obviously it was a magical item, but no two were the same. How was he going to transform it into a weapon? He glanced down at the Gold coin, and heard a voice whisper in his ear.

_"Heads or tails?"_

"Heads or tails?" He muttered.

"What?" Claudia blinked at him. "Tails."

"Tails it is," he agreed, tossing the coin. As agreed, it landed on tails, which was actually a double-bladed axe. And then it swiftly expanded into a long pilum made of Imperial Gold. Oddly, it was completely weightless to Jason, though usually Imperial Gold weapons were actually  _heavier_  than steel or iron ones.

"Ivlivs," Claudia breathed in admiration. "It's one of the three magical weapons Mother made for defeating certain monsters. It's blessed by her, so whomever wields it is almost guaranteed to win their battle, but only if they embody all of her domains enough.

The warrior must be loyal, brave, strong, honourable and heroic. If you don't have enough of those traits to satisfy Ivlivs though, it will turn against you. Be careful Jason. Don't hesitate for even half-a-moment, or you'll lose control of it."

"You say it like the thing's alive," Hank sneered at her contemptuously. Claudia cast a dark look at the son of Janus.

"My siblings and I believe it is," she declared. Jason felt his stomach twist uncomfortably as she spoke. "My mother infused each of her weapons with a little bit of her own essence. If they don't deem their wielders worthy enough, they will hinder you, instead of helping you. Still, you've activated it and that's the first step."

Jason swallowed, reminding himself that Valeria herself had come to issue the quest for Ivlivs to him. Surely she wouldn't have done so if she didn't think he could use it?

_'But what if she just wanted him to deliver it to Claudia?'_ He worried. _'Claudia was an excellent fighter, after all. And as a child of Valeria, she certainly embodied her mother's domains.'_

A yell caught his attention and he spun around, the others copying his movement. Ivlivs seemed to warm in his clenched hand as he spotted Reyna, with her sword raised. She was being gripped by the sea serpent, and struggling wildly to free herself. The archers had been forced to stop firing in case they hit her, and the remaining ground fighters were hacking frantically at the beast, trying to free their comrade. Determination filled him at the terrifying sight.

Valeria was the Goddess of Heroes, he told himself firmly. He, as a half-blood fighting for Rome, was a hero. She was Goddess of Loyalty, Jason was loyal to Rome, the Gods and his friends, so he fulfilled that requirements too. He was brave and strong. He could, no, he  _would_ be worthy enough for Ivlivs. He shifted his grip on the pilum and braced himself.

"I'm going in," he announced. He didn't give anyone a chance to do or say anything before manipulating the winds to lift him up He raced forwards, ignoring the slight sting from the cold rush of the wind, and landed on Ketos' shoulder. The monster was so strong, he didn't even seem to notice him.

Jason took advantage, crouching and grabbing tight hold of one of the beast's scales to plan out his attack. The scales were too thick to be pierced, even by Ivlivs, but, Jason smiled suddenly. It was a deadly grin, used for centuries by demigods who had just figured out how they were going to save themselves from certain death at the claws of one of their deadly foes. If Ketos had seen it on Jason, he would have shuddered in fear.

There, at an angle the archers and ground forces would've never been able to see, was a bloody, scaleless section of flesh. It was most certainly the place where Hercules had burst free of the monster when he'd fought it. And it was now the only place on Ketos' outside body that was vulnerable to an attack.

_'Thank you Brother'_  Jason thought. He glanced around, realizing that there was no way he would be able to reach the spot from here. It was too far away for him to reach, and he was wary of throwing his pilum. His aim wasn't good enough for to risk Camp, to risk  _Reyna_ , on it.

He let go of his tight grip on the scale, the winds quickly catching him. For Jason, use of his electrokinesis was exhausting, but his aerokinesis was as easy as breathing most of the time.

Several of the others fell back at the sight of them, though some continued their battle and Nikki's group ran up to continue helping the rest. Out of the corner of his eye, Jason could see Claudia glowing a bright blue colour. Most demigods had to earn the right to be blessed by their godly parents but not the Children of Valeria. Every time they went into battle she blessed them.

Jason lowered himself carefully down to the bloody mass of flesh. It was even more disgusting up close with purple streaks and greeny-yellow puss leaking from an unsealed hole with swollen edges. He heard a yell of pain and spotted a body, the armour preventing him from identifying the person, going flying.

He grasped Ivlivs tightly and felt a warmth surround him. It felt like his dim memories of Thalia hugging him lovingly. When he glanced down, the same blue colour haloing Claudia was around him as well. Valeria had blessed him and he was filled with pride and strength as he lifted Ivlivs and plunged it down into the flesh.

Ketos burst into gold dust and Jason raced to grab Reyna as she began to fall, curling automatically into a tight ball to shield herself from the impact.

* * *

"Enter," Jupiter called in response to Valeria's sharp knock on his chamber doors. She entered and kneeled swiftly to him.

"Rise, Niece," he ordered. "Did my son succeed in his quest?"

"Yes, my king," she responded. She continued, outlining the basics of the quest. She skipped anything unimportant, such as her impolite decision to bless a child not of her bloodline, and he nodded in satisfaction, though he wore a dark frown as she spoke of Bryce Lawrence.

"Lawrence," he mused. "Perhaps that family was handled badly at the time."

"I do not believe so," Valeria stiffly replied. "Given Antonius' crimes, I think I was more merciful than he deserved."

Jupiter nodded, but his frown didn't lift. "Still, we now have yet another dangerous enemy to deal with," he pointed out, turning to look at the war map on his desk.

It was enchanted to be a 3D, and showed all the current battles, in every dimension meaning Atlantis, Earth and the Underworld, and all their enemies' and allies' positions. Valeria walked up to take a closer look at it. A surge of dismay filled her as she took in the amount of gold figurines.

Gold for the Titan Army, as the Titans had ruled the Golden Age. Bronze for the Olympian Army, as they ruled the Bronze Age. Silver was supposed to be for the neutrals, but Valeria couldn't spot any. The Gold outnumbered the Bronze by three hundred to one. And monsters could reform. Demigods, the bulk of the Olympian Army, could not. And nature spirits were not only rather weak fighters, but they simply reincarnated into plants after death. The situation was grim and Valeria feared for her children and charges.

"How many minor gods have turned against us now?" She asked her liege lord. His jaw tightened, anger flaring in his sky-blue eyes.

"Seventy-two at last count," he admitted bitterly. He glared so furiously at the map that Valeria was surprised it didn't burst into flames. She flinched when he turned his glare to her.

"Why haven't you been keeping them loyal?" He spat at her and Valeria felt her heart sink as she knelt on the floor, bowing her head to him.

"Forgive me, my king," she said in the floor's direction. "I have been so focused on the heroes and the attacks on Atlantis that I have failed to pay attention to the immortals." The King was silent for a moment, staring down at her with a stony expression. It was clear why he was King of the Gods.

"Rise," Jupiter sighed, his tone milder now. She obeyed but continued looking at the floor until he lifted her chin so she stared into his eyes. "You, above all, are my most trusted lieutenant," he informed her. "I bare some of the blame for this also. What we must focus on is bringing as many gods as possible back to Olympus, and stopping any others from defecting. Tell me, who is most likely to leave us next?"

Valeria closed her eyes and started to reach out mentally, testing the loyalty of the immortals surrounding her.

"Melinoe, Janus and Pomona," she breathed. "And Morpheus is wavering heavily. But the others are on the verge of pledging themselves to the Titans. But I believe that if we offer them something that they want, we may be able to keep them on our side."

Jupiter nodded, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Melinoe wants to haunt mortals during the day no doubt, which cannot be allowed. But even if Pluto and Proserpina capture her and prevent her from joining the Titans, it will still help and they can work on turning her back to Olympus.

Janus, what to do about him?"

"Offer him control over a few tv networks," Valeria suggested. "They change so much already, he'll be in Elysium playing with them. But say he's only allowed if he vows on both the River Styx and his immortality to remain at least neutral during the war. Convincing them to be neutral is probably our safest bet.

As for Pomona, you know what she desires very well, milord. She wants recognition. Offer her an elaborate temple here on Olympus and make a ruined one for her in the Ancient Lands with the Mist letting the mortals believe it's a popular tourist attraction. Insert a few more legends about her in some books and the like. That will satisfy her enough to agree to pledge herself to Olympus, I'm certain of it."

Jupiter nodded slowly in reluctant agreement. At least he was being more reasonable than Zeus was when Akantha went to him to try and persuade him into doing similar things for other minor gods. Granted, they had to be careful to think about the balance of power, but still. A few extra temples never harmed anyone.

Valeria hesitated, judging her king's mood. Unfortunately, it was constantly low nowadays.

"What?" He snapped at her, seeing her wary look and realizing she had bad news for him.

"My lord," Valeria began carefully. "I think we should approach several of the imprisoned and neutral Titans, such as Calypso and Phoebe for example, and try and persuade them to our side."

At least Jupiter didn't strike her with his Bolt like Zeus would have, though he was clearly tempted to. Valeria hastened to explain herself before his temper had her banished from his sight for Fates knew how long.

"We are out-numbered my lord, and the majority of our army cannot reform as monsters can. Pluto has reported that something is speeding up the reformation of the beasts. This is our best chance. We must do everything necessary, no matter how distasteful to maintain control of Western Civilization."

Jupiter scoffed at her. "Let's not pretend you aren't taking advantage of the situation to try and free your old friend from her rightful captivity," he snapped at her. Valeria didn't answer him, simply raising her chin to look calmly at her king.

It was true, ever since her time on Ogygia with Calypso as a mortal, she had tried to help the imprisoned Titaness. But above all, Valeria was loyal to Olympus. She genuinely believed this was the right thing to do to aide their war efforts.

"I'll consider it," Jupiter finally growled. He waved his hand towards the door, turning back to stare grimly at the board. Valeria walked back to the door, pausing to look back over her shoulder at the map.

She was just in time to see Mt. St. Helens' shake ominously as Typhon's chains continued to weaken. It wouldn't take much more pressure for him to break free. Then, they would have an entirely new set of problems to deal with.

_'Please'_ she begged the Fates as she closed the door behind herself. _'Don't let it end like this. Please.'_


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crooked Lord rises

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO/TOA**

* * *

"Morpheus," Akantha greeted the god of dreams warily. Despite his classification of minor god, he was a formidable enemy. The silver haired god studied her with a cool gaze.

"Akantha," he said finally. "If you're here to try and convince me to remain loyal to Olympus, you're too late. I have pledged my loyalty to the Titans."

Akantha pursed her lips. She had expected this, but it didn't improve her mood at all. Melinoe, Hecate, Janus, Eris, Achelous, Pomona, Phobos, Deimos and Akantha's half-sister Rhode had all joined the Titans and refused her overturns. Losing Morpheus too would be a bigger blow than most would realize. After all, he controlled the visions that half-bloods received messages and information through.

"Then you're a fool," she declared bluntly. "Surely you don't believe that Kronos will give you the recognition that you seek? He will use you to defeat us, and then either toss you into Tartarus or essentially make you a slave. Join us once again and be rewarded for your loyalty or stay neutral, and you'll be protected from the wrath of Lord Zeus when we win."

Morpheus sneered at her and whipped out his staff. Akantha cursed as her sword appeared in her hands and she fell into a defensive position.

"Lord Kronos will give me and my children the recognition that we deserve," Morpheus spat, lunging at her. "I am no fool!"

Akantha rolled her eyes as she countered him strike for strike. Of course it was her calling him stupid that angered him. Akantha had no one to blame but herself for this predicament really, after all, she knew personally how prideful gods were. Akantha was prideful too. Still, cursing her stupidity wasn't going to help her right now.

While gods didn't sleep, and thus didn't dream either, Morpheus had the ability to put them into trance states that left the victim completely vulnerable to him by spraying them with his sand. And Akantha, couldn't risk letting him escape and give his power to Kronos. The consequences would be too dire.

She caught a blow aimed for her stomach and twisted in what had once been her signature move. It should have disarmed him, but he pulled back and tossed some sand at her. She jumped back, avoiding the blast by the skin of her teeth, and tensed as a prayer from her daughter Lena sounded in her ears.

_"Mother! Help! Oh gods,_ _**Mother** _ _!"_

Lena had never sounded so desperate before and Akantha knew, even as she felt her son's agonizing pain, that things had just gone terribly, terribly wrong. Without pausing to think or remember the Ancient Laws, she flashed away to where she sensed her twins, abandoning Morpheus to be dealt with at a later date.

* * *

The quest had gone okay at first. Based on the prophecy, Luke had selected Thalia (obviously), the twins and Nico di'Angelo as his companions. They'd entered the Labyrinth and spent what they guessed was a few hours wandering around before meeting Janus in an old Roman-esque room with a fountain. Hera had appeared and sent him away, offering Luke a wish. Thalia had insulted her, and she'd left without revealing the trick to navigating the maze.

Then they'd accidentally ended up in Alcatraz, where they'd met and freed the last of the Hundred-Ones, a giant named Briaries. They'd offered to take him with them, but he was too cowed by Kampe and refused.

They'd then found their way to Hephaestus' forge, where they'd been charged with investigating Mt. St. Helen's. That battle had led to Lukas realizing what the key to navigating the Labyrinth was and they'd called the twins' cousin Rachel Elizabeth Dare, nicknamed RED by the twins because of her initials and hair and a clear-sighted mortal, to help them get through the twisted maze.

They had quickly stumbled into an arena however, and met Antaeus a son of Poseidon and Gaia. Antaeus had been infuriated when he learned of the twins' parentage. Apparently, Akantha was the last person to defeat him and he had taken until 1983 to reform. As such, the twins had been pressed into fighting in the arena.

Both had performed superbly, but their defeat of Antaeus had caused the group trouble. Without Antaeus to stop the Titan army from attacking, the small quest group had been nearly overwhelmed by the onslaught. Having Rachel to defend hadn't helped in the matter.

Then they'd met Daedalus-who-was-also-Quintus and tried to convince him to help them. He'd refused, admitting to have given Ariadne's string to his mother already, and Nico had ended up fulfilling his own part in the prophecy by summoning an army of skeletons to let them escape when the Titans had attacked. That led to their current position.

"Oh gods of Olympus, oh gods of Olympus," Lukas repeated over and over, white as a sheet as he felt the power coming from the sarcophagus.

"What is that?" Lena whimpered. "I can't move!" She mentally thanked her mother that Rachel had been left outside with several skeletal guards conjured by Nico.

"It's the sarcophagus that Kronos is reforming in," Thalia answered shakily. "Maybe we can sabotage it somehow. Stop him from rising."

"Good idea," Nico agreed hastily.

"Best idea you've ever had, " Luke muttered. He looked around frantically, like there would be a hole they could toss the coffin into around.

"If you have any ideas as to  _how_ we do that, you're welcome to say them," was Lukas' shrill reply. Usually he and his sister were brave to the point of reckless, a trait all children of Akantha shared, but right now they both desperately wanted to run away.

_"Mother,"_ Lena whimpered mentally.  _"Help me, please."_

The door suddenly sprang open, and in strode Athena, with a vicious and triumphant smirk, Ares, who's bloodthirsty expression matched hers, Annabeth, who looked pale and frightened, several empousai and Ethan Nakamura, a runaway son of Nemesis they'd met just outside Antaeus' skull-covered arena.

"Welcome demigods," Athena cheered, spreading her arms out. It was more than a little disturbing, given her usual attitude. Her grey eyes glinted madly.

"Welcome," she repeated. "To the start of the new Golden Age! You have the honour of baring witness to the rise of Lord Kronos!"

Beside her, Ares chuckled wildly. Lena thought there was something odd about his loyalty though. Not quite uncertain, but not quite fully loyal either. Regardless, it didn't matter. Ares would try his best to kill them if they gave him the chance. Thalia, upon hearing Athena's announcement, gave them that chance.

Thalia's eyes widened in horror. "No!" She cried. Without thinking, she launched herself at the goddess, triggering a vicious and desperate fight. Luke took on Nakamura, Nico attacked Ares with a dozen skeletons to help, and the twins took on everyone else, including the reinforcements that came running in at the sound of the commotion, their mother's blessing glowing around them.

"Do you really think that it's going to be a Golden Age?" Lena spat at Annabeth as they darted at each other with their respective weapons. Thankfully, they were both using swords and Lena was definitely the superior sword fighter, like all of Akantha's children.

"In case you haven't realized, without  _gods_ , there would be no  _demigods_. You're delusional if you really think this will end well for anyone except Kronos Annabeth!"

Annabeth didn't reply, but Lena could sense the wavering loyalty she already had getting weaker at her words. It helped that as a child of Akantha, she could influence people's loyalties, though not to the same extent as her brother could.

"No!" Luke yelled. "Stop him!" Everyone spun, horror rising in the questers at the sight in front of them. Ethan Nakamura had taken advantage of the demigods' distraction to rush over to the sarcophagus where he was kneeling. He began to pledge his loyalty and Lukas let out a ragged yell, flinging himself at the other half-blood to try and stop him.

They all saw what was going to happen, but none of them were close enough to prevent it. Lena opened her mouth to let out a desperate scream of "NO! LUKAS!" Just as the empousa, Kelli, raced forwards with her spear. The sharp point went straight through Lukas' abdomen and ripped open his chest as she slashed upwards. The boy staggered, his glow disappearing as he choked on his own blood. When Kelli yanked out the spear, his knees collapsed, unable to support him.

And then the sarcophagus opened. A hand came out, settling on the edge to provide support as the inhabitant sat up. All of the Titan soldiers fell into deep bows, while Thalia and Nico braced themselves for more fighting and Luke grabbed a catatonic Lena's arm. They started to back away towards the Labyrinth, but then froze when they saw who was in the coffin.

"Chris?" Luke exclaimed in shock and disbelief. "What?"

Chris turned to look at them, and they froze at the expression and power radiating from him. His face was contorted in a vicious sneer, and his eyes were gold instead of brown.

"That's not Chris," Thalia warned. Nico frowned heavily at the possessed demigod who was now swinging himself out of the sarcophagus.

"My lord," Athena simpered. Thalia wanted to puke at the thought of this goddess being one of Greece's most respected deities.

_'The Romans should've made her_ _ **fade**_ _,'_  she thought bitterly, even as she struggled to figure out how to escape this particular mess.

"Mother," Lena sobbed softly. "Please."

A flash of light signalled Akantha's appearance, but anyone could see she had struggled to break through the wards protecting Mt. Othrys.

She took in the scene quickly, and Thalia knew she would never forget the look on Akantha's face when she spotted Lukas' body. Raw grief and heartbreak chased each other across the goddess' face, before quickly being replaced by rage and a desire for vengeance. She raised her sword in an offensive position, fury radiating from her. With her other hand, she made Lukas' body disappear.

"Go, my heroes," she ordered, green eyes glowing with power. "I will deal with these  _traitors_." The heroes didn't hesitate. Luke picked up the still-frozen Lena and they raced back to the Labyrinth, where they dragged Rachel back to camp as fast as they could.

"You cannot defeat us, Akantha," Athena haughtily declared. Her arrogant demeanour didn't quite hide the tone of concern she had though.

Akantha had defeated Ares as twelve-year-old mortal, a feat unmatched by any other half-blood before or after. She had hosted an Egyptian goddess once, and traces of Nekhbet's power had lingered, heightening the power she had naturally inherited. It was true that Akantha couldn't defeat all three of her immortal enemies alone, but she could take at least one of them to Tartarus with her before falling.

Akantha glared at the wisdom goddess with utter loathing, reserved solely for those who killed her children, and conjured her shield.

"Enjoy your freedom, Lord Kronos," she declared determinedly. "Because it won't last. You'll be back in Tartartus soon enough."

Kronos scoffed at her, a mocking smile twisting his lips. "So you're the little mortal girl who rose too high," he sneered. "I hear you can actually put up a decent fight. If you wish, I could use a  _loyal_ wife."

Disgust distorted Akantha's face at the offer and she recoiled at the very thought. "I am the goddess of loyalty!" She spat. "I will  _never_  betray Olympus! And you will never win Kronos! The Fates have pronounced that the Age of the Titans is over! Now is the Age of the Gods, and nothing you do will change that!"

"So be it," Kronos replied coldly.

Akantha hid her jolt when she sensed the conflicting spirits inside him. So, Chris Rodriguez was still 'alive' and not very content with his current position. In fact, from his feelings Akantha was certain he'd been forced into becoming Kronos' host. That meant the Titan would have to struggle to control his body. At least he was weakened for the moment. This could be her only chance to defeat him.

She readjusted her grip on Anaklusmos, comforted by the familiar feel of her sword, and attacked.

Akantha was the best fighter on Olympus. She had helped to defeat three giants, multiple gods and Titans and an infinite number of monsters. She was also weakened from not only fighting Morpheus but also breaking through to Othrys and she was outnumbered.

Athena and Ares were former Councillors, war gods and strong fighters in their own right. Despite comments on Ares' intelligence, he was a good strategist and he had millennia of experience fighting Akantha. Athena was also a far better strategist than Akantha, who relied on heavily on her instincts to fight.

Despite Akantha's best efforts, and they really were awe-inspiring, she was unable to break through Athena and Ares to get to Kronos before he had disappeared into the Labyrinth. When Ares managed to land a blow that would have crippled a mortal on her arm, and she felt the prayers of everyone at Camp Half-Blood begin, she decided to take the blow to her honour and flee.

She slashed Athena across the face, giving her a wound that would always show in that form, before she flashed away, cursing the two traitors to Tartarus for what they'd done.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO/TOA. Ya know what sucks? Spending a couple hundred trying to fix a laptop over several weeks, only to end up needing to buy a new one anyway. Ugh. Still, I have a new one now, and once again I can write! For fans of Ana Jackson, it's 3** **rd** **on the update list, after Starbursts and Ashes.**

* * *

Lena sobbed raw, heartbreaking cries as they pulled her frantically through the Labyrinth. The group was indifferent to whether or not they were going in the right direction, simply concentrating on fleeing the awful place as quick as they could. Despite her shock and grief, Rachel did her best to guide them in the same direction as the glow she saw was going.

They ended up stumbling out into a cavern-like place. Lying unconscious on the ground was "Grover!" Thalia and Luke rushed to their ex-protector's side, bending over him anxiously whilst Rachel and Lena wrapped each other in tight hugs and Nico scanned the room tensely, sword raised in an attack position.

The satyr groaned, beginning to stir. "Thalia?" He mumbled. "Luke? How'd you find me?"

"We didn't," Thalia admitted, helping him into a sitting position. "We were." She faltered, remembering the terrible scene they'd just fled. Glancing down, she was horrified to spy some blood spattered over her shirt and jeans.  _Lukas'_ blood to be precise. She swallowed and turned to her friend.

His eyes were dark with understanding as he took in Lena and Rachel's blatant grief and Nico, Luke and Thalia's bloodstained appearances. Combined with the missing final member of the quest group, it was obvious what had just happened. He nodded in understanding and began to struggle off the ground with Luke's help.

"I was tracking Pan," he revealed. There was an eager light in his eyes. "He's close. I can sense him."

"Are you sure?" Luke asked warily. Grover nodded eagerly.

"Positive!" He insisted. "I sense him. I've never sensed the wild so strongly before. C'mon!" He turned and hurried to the opposite tunnel, not leaving them any chance to protest. Cursing, Thalia and Luke rushed after them. Nico and the two Dares followed, the girls sniffling, though they tried valiantly to calm themselves in order to focus on the situation at hand.

They came to an underground river, and Luke helped Grover wade through it while everyone steadily grew tenser. An aura of power radiated from the dark entrance, and their battle-instincts were too active to allow them to relax their guards even a little bit. Grover tried to race ahead, but Luke grabbed him by the back of his jacket and pushed him into the middle of the group with Lena and Rachel. He, Thalia and Nico surrounded the other three. All of them knew that Lena was too distressed to be in fighting shape.

As they crept into the cavern, they felt their strength return. The scent of freshly-bloomed flowers wafted through the underground air. They climbed out of the water and kept walking. As the crystal pillars loomed larger, their skin tingled with living energy. Grover whimpered with excitement. Thalia and Luke were too stunned to talk. Even Nico seemed speechless. They stepped into the cave.

"Oh, wow." Rachel's eyes went wide in awe. Lena's tears stopped and she relaxed a bit.

The walls glittered with crystals—red, green, and blue. In the strange light, beautiful plants grew—giant orchids, star-shaped flowers, vines bursting with orange and purple berries that crept among the crystals. The cave floor was covered with green moss. Overhead, the ceiling was higher than a cathedral, sparkling like a galaxy of stars.

In the center of the cave stood a Roman-style bed, gilded wood shaped like a curly U, with velvet cushions. Animals lounged around it—but they were animals that shouldn't have been alive. There was a dodo bird, something that looked like a cross between a wolf and a tiger, a huge rodent like the mother of all guinea pigs, and roaming behind the bed, picking berries with its trunk, was a wooly mammoth.

On the bed lay an old satyr. He watched us as we approached, his eyes as blue as the sky. His curly hair was white and so was his pointed beard. Even the goat fur on his legs was frosted with gray. His horns were enormous— glossy brown and curved. There was no way he could've hidden those under a hat the way Grover did. Around his neck hung a set of reed pipes.  
Grover fell to his knees in front of the bed. "Lord Pan!"

The god smiled kindly, but there was sadness in his eyes. "Grover, my dear, brave satyr. I have waited a very long time for you."

"I…got lost," Grover apologized.

The group knelt as Pan laughed. It was a wonderful sound, like the first breeze of springtime, filling the whole cavern with hope. The tiger-wolf sighed and rested his head on the god's knee. The dodo bird pecked affectionately at the god's hooves, making a strange sound in the back of its bill. It like it was humming "It's a Small World."

Pan looked tired. His whole form shimmered as if he were made of Mist. But the god's eyes twinkled. "This is Dede," he introduced, gesturing at the bird. "My little actress." Dede the dodo looked offended. She pecked at Pan's knee and hummed something that sounded like a funeral dirge.

"This is the most beautiful place!" Thalia murmured, glancing around. "It's better than any building I've ever seen. Annabeth-" She fell silent, surprised at herself. She hadn't said something like that since the first three months after Annabeth's betrayal.

"I am glad you like it, dear," Pan said kindly, everyone politely ignoring her slip. "It is one of the last wild places. My realm above is gone, I'm afraid. Only pockets remain. Tiny pieces of life. This one shall stay undisturbed…for a little longer."

"My lord," Grover said, "please, you must come back with me! The Elders will never believe it! They'll be overjoyed! You can save the wild!"

Pan placed his hand on Grover's head and ruffled his curly hair. "You are so young, Grover. So good and true. I think I chose well."

"Chose Grover for what?" Luke demanded, voice going sharp as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I don't understand," Grover stammered, wearing a confused expression. Pan's image flickered, momentarily turning to smoke. The giant guinea pig scuttled under the bed with a terrified squeal. The wooly mammoth grunted nervously. Dede stuck her head under her wing. Then Pan re-formed.

"I have slept many eons," the god said forlornly. "My dreams have been dark. I wake fitfully, and each time my waking is shorter. Now we are near the end."

"What?" Grover cried. "But no! You're right here!"

"My dear satyr," Pan said. "I tried to tell the world, two thousand years ago. I announced it to Lysas, a satyr very much like you. he lived in Ephesos, and he tried to spread the word."

Lena's redrimmed green eyes widened. "The old story. A sailor passing by the coast of Ephesos heard a voice crying from the shore, 'Tell them the great god Pan is dead.'"

"But that wasn't true!" Grover rebutted.

"Your kind never believed it," Pan sighed. "You sweet, stubborn satyrs refused to accept my passing. And I love you for that, but you only delayed the inevitable. You only prolonged my long, painful passing, my dark twilight sleep. It must end."

"No!" Grover's voice trembled.

"Dear Grover," Pan's voice was gentle but firm. "You must accept the truth. Your companion, Nico, he understands."

Nico nodded slowly. "He's dying. He should have died long ago. This…this is more like a memory."

"But gods can't die," Grover denied.

"They can fade," Pan answered. "When everything they stood for is gone. When they cease to have power, and their sacred places disappear. The wild, my dear Grover, is so small now, so shattered, that no god can save it. My realm is gone. That is why I need you to carry a message. You must go back to the council. You must tell the satyrs, and the dryads, and the other spirits of nature, that the great god Pan is dead. Tell them of my passing. Because they must stop waiting for me to save them. I cannot. The only salvation you must make yourself. Each of you must—"

He stopped and frowned at the dodo bird, who had started humming again.

"Dede, what are you doing?" Pan demanded. "Are you singing Kumbaya again?"

Dede looked up innocently and blinked her yellow eyes. Pan sighed. "Everybody's a cynic. But as I was saying, my dear Grover, each of you must take up my calling."

"But…no!" Grover whimpered.

"Be strong," Pan told him. "You have found me. And now you must release me. You must carry on my spirit. It can no longer be carried by a god. It must be taken up by all of you."

Pan looked at each of them with his clear blue eyes, and they realized he wasn't just talking about satyrs. He meant half-bloods, too, and humans. Everyone.

"Thalia Grace," he began, looking at the daughter of Zeus. "I know what you have seen today. I know your fears. But rest assured, when it matters most, you will not be ruled by fear." He turned to Luke, who shifted.

"Luke Castellan, son of Hermes. You will play a vital role in what is to come. But I have faith in your success. The Fates chose you for a reason." He looked at Lena and smiled sympathetically at her.

"Lena Dare, daughter of Akantha. Of all the immortals who became gods, Akantha is the greatest, and the only one to retain her strength from her time as a demigod. And you have inherited that strength. It is true," he insisted when she started to shake her head. "You may feel as if the worst has happened, and you will never recover. But you are the daughter of Strength. You will persevere, and your brother will live forever in your heart. Honour him, and be brave for him."

"Nicodemus di'Angelo," he turned to Nico, who jolted in surprise at being addressed. "You feel as if you do not belong, that your heritage condemns you to a life of being on the outskirts. Know that despite your sister following her own destiny, you have your own destiny. And you  _matter_. More than you realize. You will find where you feel you belong. This I have seen."

Then he turned to Rachel. "Miss Dare." Rachel flinched when he said her name. She backed up like she was guilty of something, but Pan only smiled. He raised his hand in a blessing.

"I know you believe you cannot make amends," he said. "But you are just as important as your father."

"I—" Rachel faltered. A tear traced her cheek.

"I know you don't believe this now," Pan said. "But look for opportunities. They will come."

Finally he turned back toward Grover. "My dear satyr," Pan said kindly, "will you carry my message?"

"I—I can't."

"You can," Pan replied steadily. "You are the strongest and the bravest. Your heart is true. You have believed in me more than anyone ever has, which is why you must bring the message, and why you must be the first to release me."

"I don't want to."

"I know," the god smiled. "But my name, Pan…originally it meant rustic. Did you know that? But over the years it has come to mean all. The spirit of the wild must pass to all of you now. You must tell each one you meet: if you would find Pan, take up Pan's spirit. Remake the wild, a little at a time, each in your own corner of the world. You cannot wait for anyone else, even a god, to do that for you."

Grover wiped his eyes. Then slowly he stood. "I've spent my whole life looking for you. Now…I release you."

Pan smiled. "Thank you, dear satyr. My final blessing."

He closed his eyes, and the god dissolved. White mist divided into wisps of energy, but this kind of energy wasn't scary like the blue power they'd seen from Kronos. It filled the room. A curl of smoke went into each of their mouths. But a little more of it went into Grover. The crystals dimmed. The animals gave them sad looks. Dede the dodo sighed. Then they all turned gray and crumbled to dust. The vines withered. And they were left alone in a dark cave, with an empty bed.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Camp Half-Blood is invaded

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO/TOA**

* * *

The Greek version of the Olympian Council, along with the war gods, sat in silence as they watched their children prepare for the Titan army to attack Camp Half-Blood. A meeting had been called immediately after Akantha fled Othrys to discuss the two latest disasters, but they had decided they needed to know if the Greeks would survive the onslaught before making any decisions as to what to do next.

A large one-way Iris Message was hovering in the air in front of them, showing the largest military operation performed at Camp Half-Blood since the American Civil War.

The Hephaestus cabin had set up traps around the entrance to the Labyrinth—razor wire, pits filled with pots of Greek fire, rows of sharpened sticks to deflect a charge. Their Head Counsellor, Charles Beckendorf was manning two catapults the size of pickup trucks, already primed and aimed at Zeus's Fist. The Ares cabin was on the front line, standing in a phalanx formation with Clarisse La Rue calling out orders to her siblings.

Apollo's and Hermes's cabins were scattered in the woods with bows ready. Many had taken up positions in the trees. Even the dryads were armed with bows, and the satyrs trotted around with wooden cudgels and shields made of rough tree bark.

A large tent was doubling as both a command and a triage centre, with all the children of Apollo and Athena who weren't out in the battlefield itself waiting tensely to perform their assigned duties. Argus stood guard at the door while Aphrodite's children went around spraying the warriors with Chanel No. 5, a scent loathed by all monsters, and offering them drinks.

Even Katie Gardener, a scar on her temple and permanently off-balance was in the command tent, preparing to serve as a medic for less severe wounds seeing as she couldn't fight anymore.

Akantha's eyes went straight to her daughter. Lena had put on a brave face as she joined the rest of the fighters, the sword Akantha had given to her upon her claiming clutched in tight white knuckles. Upon realizing her twin was missing, a ripple of grief and discontent ran through the campers, soldiers, Akantha hastily corrected herself. Right now they were soldiers, not campers. If they wanted to survive then they had to be.

Luke joined his siblings after a whispered conversation with Thalia while she, Lena and Nico hovered near Chiron. Without any siblings to join, they would simply go to wherever needed their help the most of the small army.

"It's impressive," Artemis murmured. "Camp Half-Blood is not typically so united."

The Greeks argued and played out their parents' feuds, while the Romans played politics in the Senate for a reason Akantha didn't really understand. It wasn't like being a Roman Senator could help you become US President. She shook the thoughts away and refocused.

"When it comes to defending their home they are formidable," she pointed out, briefly remembering how ferociously the Greeks fought to prevent the Romans breeching their defences back during the Civil War.

"It won't be enough," Hades predicted grimly. "There's too few of them."

"They have an advantage in that tunnel," Enyo commented thoughtfully. Her brown eyes were narrowed in consideration and she had her head tipped to the right with one hand tapping gently on the armrest of her temporary throne.

"It's small, so that limits the amount of enemies that can come out at one time," she continued. "And if they can collapse the tunnel while some of the enemy are inside it will block any reinforcements. But if the Titans widen the entrance and they  _can't_ collapse the tunnel."

"Damn," Apollo muttered. There was no better way to sum up the state of affairs in Akantha's opinions.

They were shifting uneasily, worry too strong for children their ages shining from their eyes. Not for the first time, Akantha cursed the Ancient Laws that prevented her from keeping them innocent.

Lena should be worrying about what dress she would wear to her first date, not grieving for her brother whilst preparing to fight for her life in an attack against her home. Even the Spartans would've been unhappy with this.

The ground began to tremble. Everyone in the clearing stopped what they were doing and Clarisse barked a single order: "Lock shields!" Then the Titan lord's army exploded from the Labyrinth.

The first assault was a dozen Laistrygonian giants erupting from the ground, yelling so loudly even the gods' ears felt like they were bursting. They carried shields made from flattened cars, and clubs that were tree trunks with rusty spikes bristling at the end. One of the giants bellowed at the Ares phalanx, smashed it sideways with his club, and the entire cabin was thrown aside, a dozen warriors tossed to the wind like rag dolls.

"Fire!" Beckendorf yelled. The catapults swung into action. Two boulders hurtled toward the giants. One deflected off a car shield with hardly a dent, but the other caught a Laistrygonian in the chest, and the giant went down. Apollo's archers fired a volley, dozens of arrows sticking in the thick armour of the giants like porcupine quills. Several found chinks in armour, and some of the giants vaporized at the touch of celestial bronze.

But just when it looked like the Laistrygonians were about to get overwhelmed, the next wave surged out of the maze: thirty, maybe forty dracaenae in full battle armour, wielding spears and nets. They dispersed in all directions. Some hit the traps the Hephaestus cabin had laid. One got struck on the spikes and became an easy target for archers. Another triggered a trip wire, and pots of Greek fire exploded into green flames, engulfing several of the snake women. But many more kept coming.

Argus and Athena's warriors rushed forward to meet them. Akantha felt her breath catch as Lena raised her sword and ran to engage one of them. Nearby, Poseidon's youngest Cyclops son Tyson was riding a giant. Somehow he'd managed to climb onto the giant's back and was hitting him on the head with a bronze shield—BONG! BONG! BONG!

Chiron calmly aimed arrow after arrow, taking down a monster with every shot. But more enemies just kept climbing out of the maze. Finally a hellhound—not Daedalus' Mrs. O'Leary—leaped out of the tunnel and barrelled straight toward the satyrs.

On Chiron's order, Thalia and Nico dashed off to join the battle.

A son of Dionysus named Castor fell to an enemy half-blood, only for Lou Ellen, daughter of Hecate, to rush forward and attack the other teen with a face filled with vengeful rage.

Another enemy warrior shot a flaming arrow into the trees, sending the nature spirits into a panic as Lena cut off the head of a dracaenae before rushing to aid them alongside two of Aphrodite's daughters Silena and Lacey.

"There!" Demeter abruptly snapped, pointing at the shimmering image.

A dozen dracaenae had suddenly broken away from the main fight and begun to slither down the path that led toward camp. If they got out, they could burn down the entire place, completely unopposed.

Thalia had spotted them but was both too far away and stuck fighting two half-bloods at once. She couldn't stop them.

The only person anywhere near was Nico di Angelo. He stabbed a telekhine, and his black Stygian blade absorbed the monster's essence, drinking its energy until there was nothing left but dust.

"Nico!" Thalia yelled urgently.

He looked where she was pointing, saw the serpent women, and immediately understood. He took a deep breath and held out his black sword. "Serve me," he called.

The earth trembled. A fissure opened in front of the dracaenae, and a dozen undead warriors crawled from the earth—horrible corpses in military uniforms from all different time periods—U.S. Revolutionaries, Roman centurions, Napoleonic cavalry on skeletal horses. As one, they drew their swords and engaged the dracaenae. Nico crumpled to his knees, and Hades let out a worried hiss.

Lena closed in closed on the hellhound that was now pushing a group of satyrs back toward the woods. The beast snapped at one satyr, who danced out of its way, but then it pounced on another who was too slow. The satyr's tree-bark shield cracked as he fell.

"Hey!" Lena called, making her watching mother flinch.

"Your daughter has your spirit, Akantha," Hermes said, the lightness in his voice not covering his concern. Akantha didn't answer, transfixed by the scene.

They watched as the hellhound turned. It snarled at Lena and leaped. It would've clawed her to pieces, but as she fell backward, she grabbed a clay jar—a container of Greek fire. She hurled it at the hellhound, and the creature went up in flames.

"Thalia!" Grover the satyr bellowed. "Help!" The IM refocused on the daughter of Zeus, who had spun to find her friend.

A forest fire had started. Flames roared within ten feet of a juniper tree, and the dryad and Grover were going nuts trying to save it. Grover played a rain song on his pipes. Juniper desperately tried to beat out the flames with her green shawl, but it was only making things worse.

Thalia rushed over and closed her eyes, scrunching up her face in concentration and clenching her hands into fists. A rainstorm started, water pouring from the small group of clouds Thalia had managed to create just over the tree. It drenched the three of them, and doused the flames completely. A proud smile played on the edge of Zeus' lips as Grover bleated his thanks and Thalia ran back to the main battle. Hera humphed, a scowl on her regal features.

An unearthly shriek echoed out of the Labyrinth, a sound that Akantha had heard before. She shuddered in revolted horror as the tunnel seemed to explode out from the dragon's exit.

Kampê shot into the sky, her bat wings fully extended. She landed on the top of Zeus's Fist and surveyed the carnage. Her face was filled with evil glee.

The mutant animal heads growled at her waist. Snakes hissed and swirled around her legs. In her right hand she held a glittering ball of thread—Ariadne's string—but she popped it into a lion's mouth at her waist and drew her curved swords. The blades glowed green with poison.

Kampê screeched in triumph, and some of the campers screamed. Others tried to run and got trampled by hellhounds or giants. Akantha flinched at the sight of Lena slumping to the ground with a broken leg. A fellow camper grabbed her and ran for it.

"Di Immortales!" Chiron yelled. He quickly aimed an arrow, but Kampê seemed to sense his presence. She took flight with amazing speed, and Chiron's arrow whizzed harmlessly past her head.

Tyson untangled himself from the giant whom he'd pummelled into unconsciousness. He ran at our lines, shouting, "Stand! Do not run from her! Fight!"

But then a hellhound leaped on him, and Tyson and the hound went rolling away.

Kampê landed on the command tent, smashing it flat. The only saving grace was that, on the insistence of a mildly-prophetic son of Apollo, they had evacuated already.

Thalia and Luke joined up and rushed toward their enemy, calling out goodbyes to each other as they did so. Hermes groaned and buried his face in his hand. Zeus gripped his Master Bolt tightly, his jaw clenched grimly.

Words from a hundred lifetimes ago echoed in Akantha's head.

_"This is probably it," Lysander warned her, sweat glinting on his tanned skin as they re-grouped and readied themselves to fight a Titan and try to force him back beneath the sky. "Then at least I can die knowing I am your wife," she retorted before giving him one final, desperate kiss._

Together the two warriors leaped into the monster's path. Kampê hissed and sliced at them. Luke dodged, trying to distract her, while Thalia went in for a strike, but the monster was able to fight with both hands independently.

She blocked Thalia's spear, and Thalia had to jump back to avoid the cloud of poison. Akantha knew that just being near the thing was like standing in an acid fog. Their eyes no doubt burned and their lungs couldn't get enough air. They wouldn't last more than a few seconds.

Three of Chiron's arrows sprouted from Kampê's chest, but she just roared louder.

"Now!" Thalia ordered. Together they charged, dodged the monster's slashes, got inside her guard, and almost… _almost_  managed to stab Kampê in the chest, but a huge bear's head lashed out from the monster's waist, and they had to stumble backward to avoid getting bitten.

Kampê lunged and they were knocked to the ground. The monster had its forelegs on their chests, holding them down. Hundreds of snakes slithered above them, hissing like laughter. Kampê raised her green-tinged swords, and Akantha was certain that Luke and Thalia were out of options.

Then something howled. A wall of darkness slammed into Kampê, sending the monster sideways. And Daedalus' hellhound Mrs. O'Leary was standing there, snarling and snapping at Kampê.

"Good girl!" Daedalus called, fighting his way out of the Labyrinth. He slashed down enemies left and right as he made his way to the two half-bloods. Next to him was someone else—a familiar giant, much taller than the Laistrygonians, with a hundred rippling arms, each holding a huge chunk of rock.

"By the Fates!" Artemis exclaimed. "I thought they had all faded!"

"Apparently not," Aphrodite retorted, eyes fixed on the rainbow and gripping Hephaestus' hand desperately.

"Briares!" Tyson cried in wonder.

"Hail, little brother!" Briares bellowed back. "Stand firm!"

And as Mrs. O'Leary leaped out of the way, the Hundred-Handed One launched a volley of boulders at Kampê. The rocks seemed to enlarge as they left Briares's hands. There were so many, it looked like half the earth had learned to fly.

There was a loud explosion, and where Kampê had stood a moment before was a mountain of boulders, almost as tall as Zeus's Fist. The only sign that the monster had ever existed were two green sword points sticking through the cracks.

A cheer went up from the campers, but their enemies weren't done yet. One of the dracaenae yelled, "Ssssslay them! Kill them all or Kronossss will flay you alive!"

Apparently, that threat was more terrifying than we were. The giants surged forward in a last desperate attempt. One surprised Chiron with a glancing blow to the back legs, and he stumbled and fell. Six giants cried in glee and rushed forward.

"No!" Luke screamed, but he and Thalia were both too far away to help.

Then it happened. Grover opened his mouth, and the most horrible sound I'd ever heard came out. It was like a brass trumpet magnified a thousand times—the sound of pure fear.

The watching Olympians were stunned speechless. Even Hera lost her look of contempt and stared in wide-eyed amazement at the unsuspectingly young satyr who had just performed a miracle.

As one, the forces of Kronos dropped their weapons and ran for their lives. The giants trampled the dracaenae trying to get into the Labyrinth first. Telekhines and hellhounds and enemy half-bloods scrambled after them. The tunnel rumbled shut, and the battle was over. The clearing was quiet except for the fires burning in the woods, and the cries of the wounded.

The IM faded away at a jerk of Zeus' hand and he glanced around the throne room with a grim look.

"Well," Hermes gave a false smile. "Kronos has a host, Pan has officially faded, Camp Half-Blood was attacked, Daedalus, (he paused as they all felt the inventor die, his maze with him) has died and destroyed the Labyrinth and a child satyr just used Panic. I think we have a fair bit to chat about now, don't you?"


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO/TOA**

* * *

Eleven months, two weeks and three days after what had been titled, the Battle of the Labyrinth, Typhon finally escaped his prison. The Olympian Council was waiting for him.

Apollo had predicted the breakout down to the second, and so they had prepared. A strategy meeting had acknowledged that Poseidon was tied up with the siege of Atlantis, so he would be unavailable to fight the Father of Monsters. But he had acknowledged that Olympus was irreplaceable, unlike his palace. So if they sent word, he would abandon the evacuated city and take his army to aid the rest of the gods. Akantha suspected it would be needed.

They also knew that they couldn't leave Olympus undefended, so they decided that the remaining loyal minor gods and nature spirits would be assigned to guard it until the time came for the Greek demigods to arrive and defend the Throne Room. Hestia was also remaining on the mountain as a last line of defence in case everyone else was killed.

But Akantha (supported heavily by Hestia) had insisted the half-bloods be kept out of it as long as possible, pointing out that the adrenaline would drain their strength if they were bouncing around Olympus, waiting for an attack. Better they rest and prepare in Camp Half-Blood before the inevitable fight.

It had also been decided that Hades would wait in the Underworld with Persephone and his dead army. Then, when the battle was at its' most critical point, Hades would reinforce the Olympian side. It had been a strategy proposed by Enyo, and they had put out rumours of yet another falling out between the Big Three, and planted the belief that Hades was simply refusing to help at all. It would hopefully let them catch Kronos off guard with the unexpectedly high numbers.

Still, the fact that Kronos was somehow shielding his spy from Akantha was disturbing beyond belief. As goddess of loyalty, she should have known immediately who the traitor in the Greeks' ranks was. Instead, all she could tell was that it was one of the senior counsellors, and that they had been forced into being a spy. It broke her heart to think of how the poor child was suffering, being made responsible for endangering their friends' and families' lives.

She sighed and shook her head. Now was not the time. In exactly three seconds, Mt. St. Helen would erupt, and Typhon would emerge. He had been a fearsome foe millennia ago in Ancient Greece, and their power had weakened since them, along with their believers. She glanced around to check and make sure that everyone was in their respective positions.

They surrounded the volcano in a circle, all of them dressed in gleaming Celestial Bronze armour.

Zeus and Hera were side by side in their respective chariots. Zeus wielded his Master Bolt, while Hera hefted a staff. On Hera's other side was Demeter, clutching her torch in one hand and her pitchfork in the other. Beside Demeter was Enyo with her sword and shield. She was the only war god there, the others having been assigned to guard Olympus.

Next was Hermes, who was armed with his caduceus, a grim expression on his face. The Twins were beside him, in the Sun and Moon chariots, bows already aimed. Then it was Hephaestus and Aphrodite, Hephaestus holding a large war hammer and Aphrodite also wielding a set of bow and arrows. She wasn't as good as the Twins, but before Eros' birth, she had been the one to shoot the love arrows at people.

Finally, Akantha herself rounded up the circle, hovering in the air on her faithful Pegasus.

 _'Are you ready Darling?'_ She thought to the loyal steed that had been her mount since she was a fourteen-year-old half-blood when she'd first tamed him. Yet another story wrongly assigned to a man by chauvinistic historians.

_'Yes Mistress'_ he nickered back.  _'It has been too long since I last went to battle at your side.'_

_'Too long isn't nearly long enough, my old friend'_ she replied mentally, just as yet another plume of smoke erupted from the crater of the volcano. But this one was worse, darker and heavier than the others. Zeus signalled them all, and Akantha braced herself and Pegasus just in time to prevent them being knocked through the air when Typhoeus emerged.

The Storm Giant was without question the most intimidating foe Akantha had ever faced, including all the Titans and Giants she'd fought throughout the millennia. He had a humanoid form from the waist up, but his legs were like the bodies of boa constrictors. On each hand, he had a hundred fingers tipped with red-eyed serpent heads. He had massive leathery wings and long matted hair that smelled like volcanic smoke and he was surrounded by thick black clouds of fog.

Seeing him, Pegasus neighed, and she patted his neck to calm him. She understood completely why the gods had fled in fear the first time they met him, and she wished she had the luxury of doing so herself. But Akantha had a duty, and loyalty and duty were intertwined, so instead of fleeing she directed Pegasus at the enemy and flew towards him.

"FOR OLYMPUS!" She bellowed, the others echoing her and racing in behind her seconds later. 'May the Fates be on our side' she thought as she raised Anaklusmos to attack.

* * *

While the Olympians fought Typhon, and the Greeks readied themselves to defend Olympus, the Romans were preparing to invade Mt. Othrys on Mercury's orders. He had appeared to them a month prior and informed them that they were to attack the enemy base on December twenty-second, the Winter Solstice. According to him, if they could destroy Saturn's throne, he would be weakened enough to allow the gods to defeat him. It was vital that they succeed.

Everyone had acknowledged that the battle would likely last through the night, and even the retired legionnaires living in the city had been called up for duty.

Jason himself was currently overseeing the Fifth Cohort's preparations for the attack. The only sign of his worry at what was coming was his tense jaw and the white knuckled grip he had on his sword pommel. He was so focused on studying his Cohort for any possible problems in their techniques that he didn't even notice Reyna walking up behind him with her two new Automaton dogs, Aurum and Argentum at her heels.

"Jason," she called, startling him into spinning and putting his sword to her throat. She froze and his mouth dropped open in horror at his actions.

"Gods, Reyna!" He exclaimed hastily putting down the sword. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she answered, shoulders relaxing slightly. "Though you're obviously not. But we don't have time to discuss it yet. The Praetors have summoned all the Centurions to another strategy meeting. I came to get you and Gwen."

Jason nodded, turning and calling to his Cohort. Gwen jogged up to them, not a hint of a smile to be seen on her expression, while the others continued to practise their drills. War Games wouldn't even be half as tough as the impending fight, everybody knew. Perfection wasn't good enough with all of Olympus and Western Civilization on the line.

The three Centurions (Reyna had been promoted after her predecessor was killed in a scouting mission to Othrys the previous month) hurried to the strategy room, where almost everyone else was waiting for them.

Jason felt a pang of grief as he noticed how tense everyone was. The fear of what was coming had infected the whole of Camp Jupiter. Gwen separated from him to go and whisper with Leila, who was twisting a lock of hair around her left index finger with a tense expression as she carefully studied the large map of Othrys hanging in the centre of the wall. An identical copy of it was lying on the table with the two Praetors standing over it and speaking to each other in quiet tones.

"Welcome, Centurions Gwen, Jason and Reyna," Nikki said briskly, taking charge. "Who else are we waiting for?"

"Nathan and Hank," Larry piped up. Nathan had been elected to replace Octavian as Centurion of the First Cohort. The two came hurrying in several minutes later, the smell of sweat indicating that they too had been training when the summons came.

"Now that everyone's here," Roger Croggan, legacy of Bellona and the male Praetor of Camp Jupiter, clapped his hands together. "Let's get to work reviewing our strategy for the attack on Othrys. We'll start by going over the individual duties of the Cohorts. Third Cohort, you have the floor."

The others nodded, Claudia, the Head Centurion of the Third Cohort stepping forward and beginning to explain her Cohort's plan to fulfil their responsibility of being the first group to attack the main entrance, though of course they were only going to be a distraction to draw attention from the Fifth sneaking in from behind.

It occurred to Jason, as Reyna subtly grabbed his hand in her own, that if she was alive, Thalia would be turning sixteen whilst he was fighting in Othrys. It seemed oddly funny to him for some reason.

* * *

While her brother was strategizing for the attack on Mt. Othrys, Thalia was doing the same for defending Mt. Olympus. Or trying to anyway. But the Greek campers' task was made significantly harder by the fact that all of them knew that one of the counsellors was a spy.

They were being torn apart by distrust, and fights had broken out on multiple occasions after one person accused another and they always seemed to escalate, siblings unwilling to stand by in silence without defending their brother or sister. People were accused whether they were counsellors or not. The only people safe from accusations were Chiron, Thalia, Luke and Lena.

Currently, the counsellors were all gathered in the rec room, everybody glaring at one person or another. Michael had a black eye and Katie a split lip from the most recent fight in which Austin had accused Katie of being the spy, and Michael had intervened on his brother's behalf when Katie and her sisters were preparing to push him into the ocean.

"We have received intelligence from Atlantis that the Princess Andromeda is located just off the coast, near Brooklyn," Chiron began.  **(AN: I've never been to New York and geography will never be my best subject so forgive me if I'm wrong about that.)** "In my opinion, we ought to take advantage of that fact to neutralize the threat it poses to us. Malcolm here has come up with an idea. I will let him take the floor. Malcom."

Malcolm stepped forward, looking uncomfortable. Thalia wasn't surprised. Since the reveal of Athena and Ares as traitors to Olympus, their remaining children had become isolated from the rest of the campers despite their oaths of loyalty to the gods. Not everyone scorned them, but they weren't really embraced either. Thalia was guiltily aware that she was one of those who tended to avoid the children of Athena, though she was fine with the children of Ares. But then, Thalia had never considered a child of Ares to be a surrogate sibling.

"So," Malcolm swallowed. "The basic outline of the plan we came up with is that two people, at least one of whom needs to be an explosives expert, will sneak aboard the Princess Andromeda. Then they'll go to the engine room and hook up a couple of cans of Greek fire to the engine itself along with a remote detonator, get out and blow the ship from a distance. I recommend using the Apollo cabin's flying chariot if they'll agree to allow it."

He glanced around unsurely, holding his notebook tightly to his chest. "So," he nodded. "Yeah. That's it really."

"Thank you Malcolm," Chiron smiled warmly at the son of Athena, wheeling up into the chairman's position again. "You may go." The blonde boy fled, blatantly relieved. Chiron turned to the group of counsellors and gave a gentle smile. "Who wants to volunteer for the mission?"

The chosen volunteers, Luke and Beckendorf, were excellent ones Thalia knew. But despite that, a trill of warning ran up her spine, and when she went to wave them off the next day, she knew it deep within her. Only one of them would be coming back to Camp alive.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gods continue their battle against Typhon whilst the demigods of Camp Half-Blood brace for the Titans' attack on Olympus

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO/TOA.**

* * *

Akantha had once believed that nothing and no one would be harder to fight than Porphyrion, King of the Giants and the Bane of Zeus. He had been the one to kill her, millennia ago when she was simply a nineteen years old daughter of Poseidon who was one of the many heroes who had fought alongside the gods in order to save Western Civilization from Gaia's vengeful wrath.

He had crushed her ribs and the majority her intern

al organs. She had died choking on her own blood and the memory of it still haunted her all these centuries later.

But now she knew the truth. Typhon made Porphyrion seem like a newly born Hellhound puppy. Thank the Fates she hadn't had to deal with him back in the Ancient days. She had not yet been born when Zeus had managed to trap Typhon back in the Ancient days.

She yanked Pegasus to the side just in time to avoid being hit by a blast of lightning. The strike instead hit a building and Akantha felt a surge of grief for the abrupt deaths of the mortals inside as the building collapsed on top of them. They had been fighting the Father of Monsters for three days now, and despite their considerable might, all their attacks seemed to bounce off of him as if they were rubber bands.

"Akantha!" Apollo bellowed. "Demeter is hurt! I need you to cover me while I tend to her!"

"I'm with you," she called back, directing her steed to put them between the sun god's chariot and their ferocious opponent. "Go! Quickly!"

He flew quickly, dodging a blast deflected by Enyo.

The war goddess actually seemed to be enjoying the battle, despite the unavoidable fact that the Olympians were losing. Badly. Three days and Typhon had managed to progress from Mt. St. Helens' to the Mississippi River. They weren't even slowing him down, let alone stopping him.

It was a huge shock for Akantha to realize that she was as much an impediment to Typhoeus as a fly was to her. It was shaming to realize that she had become arrogant. She had been very humble in her younger years, and unintentionally become arrogant due to that initial modesty and how she was so much better at seeing the demigods' points of view than all the other gods.

For example, Akantha had just hurled a blast of raw power, one of the strongest attacks a god had, at her enemy. It was enough deadly energy to make an atomic bomb exploding seem as if it was the equivalent to a young mortal teenager throwing a paint bomb at someone. And yet, when her attack hit Typhoeus, he didn't even seem to notice it. She might as well have given him a paper cut, except they at least annoyed people who got them.

She gritted her teeth in frustration, Hermes flying up beside her with a clenched jaw.

"Combine your next attack with me!" he yelled over to her. "If we both hit the same place at once we may manage to cause him some damage!"

' _May'_  being the main word there. Still, Akantha nodded in agreement. It had as much chance of working as any other plan they had come up with.

"Aim for right between his eyes!" she ordered him. "We might be able to damage his vision if we can hit him!"

"On three!" came the sharp response. She raised her sword again and pointed it at the monstrous face. It was impossible for anyone mortal to keep their eyes focused on his constantly shifting features, and even for an Olympian goddess like Akantha it was a struggle.

Despite the difficulty, however, she managed to fix her gaze on his upper face, her sword pointed at the spot between his (usually) two eyes. Hermes copied her, aiming his caduceus in the same direction. Apollo joined them, Demeter as recovered as she could get in the circumstances. He knocked an arrow and pointed it with them.

"One! Two! Three!" As Akantha snapped out 'three', the three gods flung out enough power to destroy a planet. A streak of purple energy flew from Anaklusmos, green from Hermes' caduceus, and a trail of golden light followed Apollo's arrow. They all hit exactly where they aimed, and a cheer went through the gods' ranks when he stumbled backward a few steps.

Artemis, Enyo and Hephaestus took advantage of the momentary vulnerability to race forward and attack him whilst Akantha, Apollo and Hermes struggled to regain their strength. Such attacks were not to be used lightly, as they were the godly equivalent to halving your energy.

Zeus flew up beside them, giving a sharp nod of approval at their actions. "Hermes!" He snapped out over the roaring sounds of the battle. "I need you to go back to the throne room and speak to my daughter! Inform her that we cannot help her yet, but reinforcements  _are_  incoming! Then return here as quickly as you can to continue the battle!"

"Yes Father!" The Messenger of the Gods gave a sharp salute before flashing away. Zeus turned back to his son and his most loyal subject.

"Can you fight again yet?"

"Of course, Sire," Akantha nodded sharply, green eyes flashing with determination.

"I'm with you Akantha!" Apollo agreed, both of them still obviously fatigued, though they were determined to keep fighting. "Let's go!"

With that, the three gods raced back into the battle, Pegasus roaring in defiance at the monstrous beast they opposed.

* * *

 

The news that the gods couldn't help them was disheartening, but not unexpected. Thalia hoped Hermes was right about the reinforcements though. Camp Half-Blood was fielding a small force of just over forty heroes, what with Clarisse and the Ares cabin staying behind to defend the camp. It seriously pissed Thalia off that the children of Ares were staying out of the battle for no reason other than their own pettiness. Lives were at stake and Clarisse was more concerned with a flying chariot than preventing the end of the world! Thalia was kind of surprised their loyalty oaths had allowed it. And that Clarisse had taken the risk in the first place.

But nature spirits weren't exactly natural fighters, and their enemies still out-numbered them by several hundred. Not to mention the fact that monsters could reform, and demigods couldn't. Thalia wouldn't put it past Kronos to figure out a way to hasten the monsters' reformation in order to have the heroes be overwhelmed by a never-ending wave of monsters constantly boring down on them day and night. And the fact any plan they made was automatically compromised by the spy in their midst wasn't reassuring anyone either.

Lena couldn't detect who it was, though she  _had_  tried. Apparently there was something blocking her from figuring out who the spy was.  _"It's like they somehow managed to use the Mist to hide the traitor's identity from me,"_  she had growled in blatant anger. As the child of the loyalty goddess, treason was the worst sin someone could commit to her eyes.

Thalia bit her lip as she studied the shield Malcolm had provided her. It was spilt into multiple sections, showing each bridge. Each bridge was currently been marched towards by groups of monsters. Each attacking group was a different size, and Thalia had yet to see Kronos with any of them. The one thing on their side was that the river gods were close friends with Akantha, and kept drowning any boats Kronos tried to send across.

"Alright," Thalia took a deep breath before she exhaled. "We need to guard the bridges and tunnels. Let's assume they'll try a midtown or downtown assault, at least on their first try. That would be the most direct way to the Empire State Building.

Michael, take Apollo's cabin to the Williamsburg Bridge. Katie, Demeter's cabin takes the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Grow thorn bushes and poison ivy in the tunnel. Do whatever you have to do, but keep them out of there! Conner, take half of Hermes cabin and cover the Manhattan Bridge. Travis, you take the other half and cover the Brooklyn Bridge. And no stopping for looting or pillaging!" She gave them a sharp look and fingered her spear to emphasize her words.

"Awwww!" the whole Hermes cabin complained. "Fine," Travis grudgingly agreed.

Thalia eyed them hardly for another moment before she continued handing out the assignments. "Silena, take the Aphrodite crew to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel."

"Oh my gods," one of her sisters said, clapping her hands excitedly. "Fifth Avenue is so on our way! We could accessorize, and monsters, like, totally hate the smell of Givenchy."

"No delays," Thalia snapped before hesitating. "Well . . . the perfume thing, if you think it'll work."

The girls squealed and hugged each other in excitement.

"All right, enough!" She closed her eyes, trying to think of what she'd forgotten. "The Holland Tunnel. Jake, take the Hephaestus cabin there. Use Greek fire, set traps. Whatever you've got."

He grinned bloodthirstily. "Gladly. We've got a score to settle. For Beckendorf!" The whole cabin roared in approval.

"The 59th Street," Thalia paused to bite her lip. "Malcolm, you guys take that one. Luke and I will go around reinforcing wherever needs it and picking off any stragglers who get past. Keep in touch by cell phones."

"We don't have cell phones," Silena pointed out. Thalia snatched up a Blackberry from the ground and tossed it to her.

"Here. Everyone knows Kayla's number right?" The others all nodded and Kayla, realizing what was going on, handed over her phone. "Thanks Kayla. Pick up a phone, call us and drop it. That'll make it harder for monsters to track you. (Everyone grinned in approval.) and no, you can't keep any of them. (The Hermes kids groaned in disappointment.) Okay, so-"

"What about the Lincoln Tunnel," Jake reminded her.

"Shit," Thalia cursed. She raked a hand threw her dark hair and scrambled for an idea. If only the Ares kids were there. Thalia and Luke couldn't hold the Lincoln Tunnel by themselves after all. They weren't  _that_  good.

"Mayhap, we could aid thee with thy problem?" A familiar voice as called from behind them. The group turned and Thalia's shoulders sagged in relief. Despite their history, she had never been so relieved in her life. And she had gained a sort of tolerance for Zoe after dreaming of her history during her capture.

"Yes, you definitely could," she sighed, rising and striding over to the group of silver-clad girls briskly. There were thirty of them at least. Almost the same amount as the entirety of Camp Half-Blood's force. "You guys are life-savers. Seriously. Thank the gods you're here."

"Of course, we are the sworn handmaidens of the goddess Artemis," Zoe replied evenly. "Therefore, it is our duty to defend Olympus when it is endangered. We hastened here as quick as we could. Now, I believe I heard that the Lincoln? Tunnel is without a defence. We shall go there immediately to defend it."

"Great," Thalia nodded. She waited until the Hunters had all left with their weapons raised before she turned to take everyone in and to meet their eyes, clapping her hands together firmly. "Alright everyone. We are the greatest heroes of the age! We are strong, brave, and favoured by the gods! If we fail to hold the Titan Army at bay until the gods have defeated the Father of Monsters, it won't just be us who suffer.

Our mortal families, our friends and our Camp families and friends, everyone we know and love will suffer if we fail." She looked around, meeting everyone's eyes.

Their expressions were all full of a mixture of fear and determination. Lena, who was going with the Apollo kids to help defend Williamsburg Bridge, met her gaze. The daughter of Akantha lifted her chin and rested her hand on her sword. After the Battle of the Labyrinth she had traded her old sword in for Lukas' old sword. Akantha had given it to her after Lukas' funeral, which had been separate from the ones held for those killed in the battle.

"So," she continued. "We can't fail. We  _won't_  fail. We are heroes of Olympus and we will never give in to the tyranny of the Titans!"


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Camp Half-Blood fights to defend Mt. Olympus, Camp Jupiter fights to invade Mt. Othrys and Poseidon makes a decision.

**Almost complete! Oh my gods! Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO/TOA**

* * *

The day before her birthday, and the day after she refused Prometheus' offer of surrender, Thalia woke up from yet another dream about her enemy. She nearly gutted Luke in the process, and only his lightning fast reflexes kept him from turning into 'Luke-On-A-Stick'. A nearby Hunter groaned in disappointment.

"Woah, woah!" He lifted his hands defensively. "Calm down, Thals. It's just me."

"Sorry," she panted, eyes scanning the room for threats for a moment before she relaxed. "Dream," she stated simply as an explanation. Luke nodded, an understanding look on his face.

"We have a problem," he told her. "There's-"

"An army in the park," she cut him off. "I know. That's what my dream was about. We need to hurry, Kronos said something about a surprise."

"Oh, great," Luke grimaced. "I just love surprises. I can't wait."

Thalia gave a bitter laugh as they hurried from the room. "I guess someone forgot to tell him that my birthday isn't until tomorrow," she said bitterly. Luke didn't answer, the silence feeling heavy between them for once. The deadline hovered around them with the words,  _the hero's soul cursed blade shall reap,_  dangling above them like Damocles' sword.

They passed through the reception, spotting Lena going around, touching people's shoulders to restore their strength and bravery, and then they entered the hotel's main conference room that they were using to plan out their strategies and get reports from everyone. Zoe and the other cabin leaders were already there.

"At last," Zoe snapped. "The Titans have an army coming through the park. The force is strong."

"I know," Thalia nodded, heading for the table. She studied the shield lying on the table, a deep frown growing on her face as she tried to count the opposing forces' numbers. "Damn," she muttered grimly. "And the other entrances? Knowing Kronos, he'd send a huge force to distract us, then sneak in to the mountain through a smaller one."

"I have seen nothing," Zoe admitted. "But I agree with thy's concern. We shall be forced to divide our forces. They may be overwhelmed if they art confronted with the Lord of Time."

Thalia bit her lip. "But we have no options," she sighed. "Okay, so the Hunters will come with Luke, the Athenian kids, Lena and I to Central Park. Everyone else will be split between the tunnels to defend them."

"Still doesn't give us a big enough force to deal with that amount of monsters at the park," Luke pointed out, scowling at the large force on the move in the shield's reflective surface.

"Well, we have no one else to help," Thalia shot back testily. "Unless you've got a couple phalanxes hidden up your sleeves?"

"Ahem," a voice cleared his throat. "We shall aid you in defending the home of the gods!" The three leaders turned, their eyebrows all flying up at the sight of an overweight old satyr standing in front of Grover. Through the door, Thalia felt a jolt of delight and hope at the sight of a large group of nature spirits floating around the reception.

While nature spirits were not the best when it came to anything violent, they had magic, and they were as stubborn as their trees. And any help was welcome help at this point.

"My Lord," Zoe stepped forward, wearing her typical expression of disdain. "How many warriors hast thou in thy army?"

"Ah," the satyr mopped his sweaty brow with a handkerchief, his hand shaking slightly. "About fifty nature spirits of various species. We are us all ready to defend Mount Olympus with our lives, of course."

"You have our thanks, milord," Zoe inclined her head regally. She somehow managed to give the impression that _she_  was giving _him_  a gift, rather than the other way around.

"You'll come with us to push them back out of the park," Thalia interrupted the satyr (Leneus according to Grover's hasty whisper in her ear) before he could start babbling on. "Let's go."

"Yes," Zoe agreed, snatching up her bow and quiver.

"May the Fates be on our sides," Luke added with a sigh as he pushed off the wall he had been leaning against in order to follow them to the door.

They heard the army before they saw it.

Later on, Luke would claim that the noise was like a cannon barrage combined with a football stadium crowd—like every Patriots fan in New England was charging the defending army with bazookas. The other survivors of the battle, in turn, would agree that it was a rather accurate comparison, but not quite loud enough.

At the north end of the reservoir, the enemy vanguard broke through the woods—a warrior in golden armor was leading a battalion of Laistrygonian giants with huge bronze axes. Hundreds of other monsters poured out behind them.

"Positions!" Malcolm yelled. His cabinmates scrambled. The idea was to make the enemy army break around the reservoir. To get to the defenders, they'd have to follow the trails, which meant they'd be marching in narrow columns on either side of the water, from where the naiads who'd joined the battle would use their powers to drown them.

At first, the plan seemed to work. The enemy divided and streamed toward the defenders along the shore. When they were halfway across, the defences kicked in. The jogging trail erupted in Greek fire, incinerating many of the monsters instantly. Others flailed around, engulfed in green flames. Athena campers threw grappling hooks around the largest giants and pulled them to the ground. Naiads sent long ropes of water out of the rivers and dragged the various monsters they caught into the waters' depths.

In the woods on the right, the Hunters began to send vollies of silver arrows into the enemy line, destroying twenty or thirty dracaenae, but more marched behind them. Thalia herself summoned a strong bolt of lightning that came crackling out of the sky and fried a Laistrygonian giant to ashes. Luke proved his reputation of 'best swordsman in decades' was well unearned, cutting down a monster with each move.

Grover raised his pipes and played a quick tune. A roar went up from the woods on both sides as every tree, rock, and bush seemed to sprout a spirit. Dryads and satyrs raised their clubs and charged. The trees wrapped around the monsters, strangling them. Grass grew around the feet of the enemy archers. Stones flew up and hit dracaenae in the faces.

The enemy slogged forward. Giants smashed through the trees, and naiads faded as their life sources were destroyed. Hellhounds lunged at the timber wolves, knocking them aside. Enemy archers returned fire, and a Hunter fell from a high branch.

"Thalia!" Lena yelled as she pointed at the reservoir. The Titan in the gold armor wasn't waiting for his forces to advance around the sides. He was charging toward the main line of defence, walking straight over the top of the lake.

A Greek firebomb exploded right on top of him, but he raised his palm and sucked the flames out of the air.

" It's Hyperion," Malcom warned with a mix of fear and awe in his voice. "The lord of light. Titan of the east. Next to Atlas, he's the greatest Titan warrior. In the old days, four Titans controlled the four corners of the world. Hyperion was the east—the most powerful. He was the father of Helios, the first sun god."

Thalia fixed her gaze on him and tightened her jaw, hefting her spear and shield. "I'll deal with him," she decided.

"Thalia, even you can't—" Luke began to argue. Lena, however, simply muttered a blessing while she touched the daughter of Zeus' shoulder gently. Thalia gasped as she felt her strength be restored, her worry growing as she noticed the weakness it had cost Lena.

"Lena," she started to say. The daughter of Akantha shook her head, dismissing it.

"Go," she insisted, shoving a piece of ambrosia into her mouth. "Quickly!"

"Good luck," Luke added grimly as Thalia turned to rush toward Hyperion. She hovered slightly, making it seem as if she too was running over the top of the water.

When they were twenty feet away from each other, Hyperion raised his sword. His eyes were as gold as Kronos's but brighter, like miniature suns.

"Zeus' latest brat," he mused. "Well, this should be fun."

"Yeah," Thalia agreed. "I'll enjoy tell everyone how badly I kicked your ass."

Hyperion snarled and raised his sword, beginning to glow brightly. Thalia prayed to Akantha to grant her the strength and courage she needed for this battle.

* * *

On the other side of the country, Camp Jupiter was moving out. They had all climbed into ten large, canvas-covered trucks, with twenty legionnaires in each of them. Several Lares were also coming, grouped in ghostly chariots and wearing expressions as grim as their living counterparts.

The trucks carrying the First, Third and Fourth Cohorts were all heading for the more obvious entrance to Mount Othrys. The others, carrying the recalled soldiers and the Second and Fifth Cohorts, under Hank, Reyna, Jason and Gwen's joint command, headed around to the back of the mountain.

Once they had all disembarked and fallen into line, the four centurions exchanged quick nods and began leading the way up the mountain. The road they were taking was sparsely patrolled, and Eleanor Lyric, a daughter of Apollo from the Second Cohort who held the title of quickest archer in the camp, shot each of them before they could make an attempt to sound the alarm or attack the invading army of heroes.

As they came closer to the dark, sinister-looking fortress, the sound of battle reached their ears. Jason winced, a headache starting to form as he listened to the loud noise of metal clashing, orders being yelled, cursing and other fight-related sounds.

' _Whoever said war was a good thing'_ he thought bitterly.  _'Clearly had_ _ **no**_ _idea what they were talking about.'_

They entered the fortress to find that the lines had not yet broken, as they had hoped and planned for. Instead of individual fights and broken ranks making it difficult to either support their comrades or identify which demigods were with or against them, there were nothing but enemies facing away from them.

At the other side of the army, Jason could see the golden armour and purple cloak of Praetor Nikki as she led the demigods' side of the battle. He turned and nodded at the other centurions. They nodded back, and Jason raised his sword high in the air to attract his soldiers' attention.

"Heroes advance!" he yelled. "FOR OLYMPUS!"

"FOR OLYMPUS!" They all echoed him before they crashed into the backs of the shocked defending monsters, many of whom died in the initial attack.

Jason forced his mind not to become distracted by the battle, concentrating on his assigned task.  _'The throne'_ he reminded himself as he continually cut through what seemed to be a never-ending stream of enemies. _'I need to find the throne and destroy it. It's the only way to weaken Saturn enough for the gods to defeat him.'_

* * *

Poseidon hated to do it. Not only was it a sharp blow to his pride to abandon his city, his centre of power, to the invading enemy, but many of his army had sacrificed their mortal lives to defend Atlantis. By leaving, it felt as if their sacrifice was being wasted.

Despite that, Poseidon knew that he had no other (acceptable) option. If he stayed, then the only thing he would achieve would be the loss of his family, the city,  _and_ his army. By retreating, and going to aid his fellow Olympians instead, he would only lose his city. Then he could help destroy Typhon, and they could go to Olympus to reinforce the struggling demigods before they were defeated. And perhaps Poseidon would even get to defeat Athena at last.

He very much wanted revenge for his lovers' suffering at her hands, and for sweet Pallas' death. Though the mortals had written it was an accidental death, Poseidon knew the truth. Athena had killed his young granddaughter to make him suffer. He would get justice for Pallas however. The time had come and her ichor called for vengeance.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battles are ended for all three groups.

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO/TOA. Very close to the end, my loyal readers! This, and one more chapter, then it's to the Heroes of Olympus we go! I can't believe it, this fic is practically my baby and now it's nearly finished! Does it always feel like this?**

* * *

Jason swallowed terror as he faced down Krios. The Titan of the South was about twenty feet tall, wearing black armour made of Stygian iron with stars sparkling dully on it, while his helmet was shaped like a ram's head with horns on it. His weapon of choice was a massive sword, about the size of Jason himself.

Gulping, he mentally ran through everything he knew regarding the Titan.

Krios was the third son of Gaea and Ouranos, entitled Lord of the South and Lord of Constellations and married to was the worst fighter of the Titans, but that wasn't saying much. He was still far better and more experienced than Jason would ever manage to be. And to destroy Saturn's throne, Jason would have to not only fight, but _defeat_ him.

"So," the Titan sneered, stalking forward with a predatory look in his ice-blue eyes. "You are Jupiter's latest spawn. I will enjoy telling him how pathetically you died, the shame you brought on yourself, when  _he_  is the one kneeling at  _my_ feet."

Jason felt his fear suddenly disappear at the insult. He was a Roman Centurion! The son of the King of Olympus and the Champion of the Queen of the Gods! He would die bravely, fighting for the gods. He would not be a coward and falter in fear of his enemy.

"Then come and kill me, Ram," he snarled viciously, raising his sword in a blatant challenge. "Or are you so weak you can't even kill a  _pathetic_ half-blood?"

The immortal roared in rage and rushed in, raising his sword to decapitate the demigod. Only his half-blood instincts, combined with the brutal training regime used by Camp Jupiter, saved him. He used his left arm to swing his shield up to block the blow, crying out in pain as the impact smashed his arm to pieces from the force of it.

Still, Jason knew he could still fight with his off-hand broken. Part of Roman training was dedicated to fighting with only one of his arms, and he still had his dominant hand.

Determinedly, he attacked back. He charged his sword with electricity as he did so, a jet of deadly lightning shooting out ahead of his weapon. Krios was so distracted by blocking the lightning that Jason was able to land a blow on him. Krios snarled in rage at the ichor welling up from his arm and this time Jason flew up into the air to avoid being impaled.

And so it went, for the next ten minutes. Although later on, he would only remember a blur of traded blows and taunts, at the time it was all a sharp scene ruled by his adrenaline. He let his wolf-trained instincts guide him in his battle, taking many injuries. Finally, he found himself lying, helpless and drained of all his energy and strength, on the hard, black marble.

Krios had an ugly smirk on his face, but Jason managed to scrape together enough energy to feel smug at the sight of the bleeding cuts scattered around his body.

"Well, demigod," Krios drawled contemptuously. "I will allow you this much  _grace_." His grin widened at the pun. "You fought bravely. But now, it's time to die."

With that he raised his sword to decapitate Jason, only to stop in mid-thrust, choking on the ichor now flowing out of his mouth.

He had been too busy gloating over his perceived triumph to notice Jason reaching out to grip his pilum. Nor had he paid attention until too late to the injured demigod throwing his spear, directed by Jason's last burst of power and piercing his neck. Weakly, Jason struggled to his feet, yanking out Ivlivs and changing it to its' sword form.

"Actually, milord," he corrected the Titan's statement. "It's yours." And then  _he_ cut off  _Krios'_  head, feeling it poetically just to end the Titan in the same way Krios had tried to end him.

He stood there for a few moments after the Titan had dissolved into gold dust, swaying on his feet from exhaustion and pain. It was agony to breathe with his broken ribs, and he could feel his adrenaline beginning to crash. But he was reminded of the main target of the mission by the sound of battle coming from outside the throne room. He turned and staggered towards the large Black Throne at the end of Mount Othrys' Great Hall, and stopped just inches away.

He could feel a cold, malicious power radiating from it, and shuddered slightly in revulsion as he yanked out a piece of Ambrosia and shoved it in his mouth, swallowing heavily. The food of gods reinvigorated him enough to do what he needed to.

He jabbed his sword into the leg of the throne, the magic blade sliding in with resistance. Then he paused, summoning all of his remaining strength, and sent the most powerful bolt of lightning he had ever created into the obsidian throne. The last thing he saw before the world went black was Saturn's source of power beginning to crumble down into itself.

* * *

At the same time, across the country, the gods had been pushed back to the Hudson River, and they were on their last legs despite Akantha continuously sending bursts of strength to them. Demeter and Aphrodite had both been knocked out of the air at different points in the week-and-a-half long battle. All the remaining fighters were giving everything else they had left to try and stop him, but it wasn't working.

Lightning flashed while arrows of gold and silver streaked into the cloud like rocket tracers and exploded against Typhon's impenetrable skin. Akantha took an opportunity to fly in and stab him in the shoulder, darting away as his hand came up to swat at her like she was a bug and not an Olympian goddess.

Zeus threw a thunderbolt from his chariot. The blast lit up the world. They could probably feel the shock all the way over on Olympus. Any other monster would have been completely obliterated, but not Typhon. When the dust cleared, he was still standing. He staggered a bit, with a smoking crater on top of his misshapen head, but he roared in anger and kept advancing.

And then, like a miracle, a conch horn sounded. One that echoed to the part of Akantha that would always be the daughter of the Sea God. The call of the ocean. The call of Poseidon.

All around Typhon, the Hudson River erupted, churning with forty-foot waves. Out of the water burst a new chariot, this one pulled by massive hippocampi, who swam in air as easily as in water.

The King of Atlantis was glowing vibrantly with a blue aura of power and he rode a defiant circle around the giant's legs. Poseidon was no longer an old man, as he had been since Atlantis was besieged. He looked like his proper self again. Tan and strong with a black beard. As he swung his trident, the river responded, making a funnel cloud around the monster.

Akantha let out a triumphant laugh, Pegasus rearing in delight.

"NOW, MY BRETHREN!" Poseidon roared loudly. "STRIKE FOR OLYMPUS!" The warriors of the sea's army burst out of the river, riding the waves on huge sharks and dragons and sea horses. It was a legion of Cyclopes, and leading them into battle was Tyson, Poseidon's current youngest child.

Akantha was privately shocked at the sight of him, as Poseidon had been very protective of his youngest son. Still, she supposed it hardly mattered right now.

All the Cyclopes held huge lengths of black iron chains that were big enough to anchor a battleship with grappling hooks at the ends. They swung them like lassos and began to ensnare Typhon, throwing lines around the creature's legs and arms, using the tide to keep circling, slowly tangling him.

The monster shook and roared and yanked at the chains, pulling some of the Cyclopes off their mounts; but there were too many chains for him to escape their grip. The sheer weight of the Cyclops battalion began to weigh Typhon down. Poseidon threw his trident and impaled the monster in the throat. Golden blood, immortal ichor, spewed from the wound, making a waterfall taller than a skyscraper whilst the trident flew back to Poseidon's hand.

The other gods struck with renewed force. Enyo charged in and stabbed Typhon in the nose. Artemis shot the monster in the eye with a dozen silver arrows while Apollo shot a blazing volley of arrows and set the monster's loincloth on fire. Hera and Akantha both flew in and attacked his arms on either side. And Zeus kept pounding the giant with lightning, until finally, slowly, the water rose, wrapping Typhon like a cocoon, and he began to sink under the weight of the chains.

Typhon bellowed in agony, thrashing with such force that waves sloshed the Jersey shore, soaking five-story buildings and splashing over the George Washington Bridge, but down he went as Poseidon opened a special tunnel for him at the bottom of the river, an endless whirlpool that would take him straight to Tartarus. The giant's head went under in a seething whirlpool, and he was gone.

The Cyclopes cheered, and Akantha suddenly found herself giving Apollo a desperate kiss.

"And now we must go to Olympus to defeat Kronos!" Zeus ordered, regaining the jubilant gods' attention. "Onward, to Olympus!"

"Aye!" They called their agreement, turning their various mounts in the direction of the Empire State Building and beginning to race towards it.

* * *

"BAH!" Kronos screamed. He slashed his sword through the smoke, tearing the image to shreds.

"They're on their way," Thalia declared victoriously. "You've lost, Kronos."

"I haven't even started," he snarled, advancing with blinding speed.

Grover launched himself between them to try and protect his former charge, but Kronos tossed him aside like a rag doll.

"Thalia!" Luke called desperately from where he lay beside Aphrodite's throne with a broken leg. In the corner, Annabeth stood shaking with tears flowing from her eyes while she locked blades with Clarisse.

A part of Thalia ached to comfort her as she had back before Kronos and Athena had stolen her surrogate sister from her. But she couldn't even if they weren't on opposite sides of the war, she was busy battling with Kronos. But somewhere along the way she had exchanged her spear for a sword and that had never been her best area of fighting.

She fumbled and was disarmed, the short battle ending with the King of the Titans holding his sword to her neck.

"Thalia!" This time Luke's voice was joined by Annabeth, who had abandoned her battle to stumble toward them with eyes wide with horror and fear.

"You said you wouldn't hurt them!" Annabeth cried. Kronos sneered contemptuously at her.

"Foolish little girl," he sneered. "I  _am_  titled the Crooked One. And she was prophesized to be my downfall. Why would I ever spare her? Or any other of you pathetic half-bloods for that matter?"

Thalia couldn't speak, the sword-tip cutting into her throat. Luke could only snarl helplessly, his wounds forcing him to lie helplessly while he watched the scene play out

"But you promised to make things better for us," the blonde whimpered. "You said-"

"Enough!" Kronos snapped, looking annoyed. "I'm tired of you. And now your useless mother and Ares have been defeated by Hades, and the Olympians are on their way, I need to finish this quickly."

He turned and raised his hand in a fist. Thalia gasped, her hand flying to her throat as her breath suddenly disappeared.

"Thalia!" Luke cried again. Then "NO! ANNABETH!"

Annabeth had flung herself, armed only with the knife that once belonged to Hal Green, at Kronos, attacking wildly and not making a scratch on his impenetrable skin. Then Kronos struck back. He didn't even use a weapon. He just slapped her away, sending her body, which suddenly seemed so very small, flying across the room. The crack of her neck as she hit the wall seemed to echo all throughout the Throne Room.

At Thalia and Luke's twin shrieks, Kronos stumbled, his eyes briefly returning to Chris' grey. That was when Clarisse launched herself into his line of sight.

"Chris!" She cried. "Chris, come back to me!"

"Chris is gone!" The Titan snarled, despite the flickering colours in his eyes. "Only Kronos remains!"

"You swore forever!" She yelled back desperately, and her grief and rage at the news of Chris' possession suddenly took on a new meaning to the other demigods.

The colours fought before grey finally managed to take over, and when he spoke it was obviously Chris.

"Clare," he mumbled. "Gimme a knife."

She looked at Thalia, who had somehow ended up holding Annabeth's knife in a tightly clenched hand.

"Thalia, give it to him," she urged, tears falling freely. "Please."

She hesitated for a moment, reluctant to arm the Titan Lord's host.

"Please," he gasped. "I can't, hold him back! Much longer. Please. Thalia!" In the end, the desperation in his voice got to her, and she handed the knife to him silently.

He gave a pained grimace and fumbled with the straps on his armour. Luke and Grover had come to their sides, and the three stood silently watching. Hestia flickered in the hearth, wearing a solemn expression.

He unlatched the side straps of his armour, exposing a small bit of his skin just under his left arm, a place that would be very hard to hit. With difficulty, he stabbed himself.

It wasn't a deep cut, but Chris howled. His eyes glowed like lava. The throne room shook, throwing me off my feet. An aura of energy surrounded him, growing brighter and brighter. The heroes were forced to shut their eyes as they felt a force like a nuclear explosion blister their skin and crack their lips.

Afterwards, it was silent for a long time.

When they opened their eyes, Chris was sprawled at the hearth. On the floor around him was a blackened circle of ash. Kronos's scythe had liquefied into molten metal and was trickling into the coals of the hearth, which now glowed like a blacksmith's furnace.

Chris' left side was bloody. His eyes were open, grey eyes, the way they used to be. His breath was a deep rattle.

"Good . . . blade," he croaked, giving it a weak pat. Clarisse sobbed and collapsed beside him as Thalia, Luke and Grover knelt around him. They all had tears in their eyes.

Chris gazed at Clarisse. "You knew. I almost killed you, but you knew . . ."

"Shhh." Her voice trembled. "You were a hero at the end, Chris. You'll go to Elysium."

He gave a weak smile. "I'll, wait for you."

She smiled shakily at him. "I'll kick ass before I go," she promised. The three observers felt as if they were intruding on an intimate scene. He held up his charred hand and she touched his fingertips.

"Do you . . ." Chris coughed and his lips glistened red. "Do you love me?"

"Always," she whispered back. He gave her a smile of adoration and turned his gaze to Luke.

"Thanks," he gasped out. "For being the best brother I could've asked for. Take care o' the others for me, okay?"

"I will," Luke promised with a rough tone. "You were an amazing brother too, you know. My favourite actually."

Chris gave a weak, but cocky, smirk. "I know." He turned to Thalia. "Promise that this, never again," he begged. "And the others won't be punished." She nodded quickly.

"I swear on the Styx I'll make sure this doesn't happen again," she vowed. Thunder boomed, sealing her oath. He nodded and turned to look at Clarisse again.

"I love you," he breathed out. Before she could reply, he gave a death-gasp, and his eyes went blank, his body going slack. Clarisse let out an animalistic wail of agony, burying her head in his chest to sob out her pain and grief.

The gods arrived a few minutes later in their full war regalia, thundering into the throne room and expecting a battle. What they found instead were Luke, Grover, Clarisse and Thalia standing over the broken body of a half-blood, in the dim warm light of the hearth.

"Thalia," Akantha called, awe in her voice. "What . . . what is this?"

Thalia turned and faced the Olympians.

"We need shrouds," she announced, her voice cracking. "Shrouds for the heroes of Olympus."


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Awards ceremony.

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HOO/TOA. Oh my gods! It's actually finished! I can't believe it! But, a sequel is coming, my loyal readers! Keep a look out for Goddess of Strength, the Akantha verse version of Heroes of Olympus. I'm just planning to finish Ana Jackson and the Lightning Thief first. And thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favourited this story, you guys are awesome, and I'm so honoured by all of your kindness. Thank you all.**

* * *

Both sets of demigods were rewarded at the same time. While their Greek cousins were honoured on Olympus itself, the Roman version of the Council were rewarded on Capitol Hill, in front of the Temples of Jupiter, Juno and Valeria, the three most important temples in Rome.

The Cohorts were organized by rank, and Jason could just about see Reyna kneeling at the front of the Second alone, her fellow Centurion one of many lost in the Invasion of Mount Othrys.

Jupiter stepped forward. It was the first time Jason had ever laid eyes on his father in person, rather than just the statue in his temple, and he studied him carefully.

Jupiter was currently about twenty-feet tall, imposing, and _very_ muscular. He had long black shoulder-length hair with a grey-and-black beard that was neatly trimmed in a goatee. His eyes were the same electric-blue colour that Jason had inherited, and he had a serious and proud, but very handsome face. He smelled like rain and clean wind and a metal cylinder hung from the leather belt wrapped around his waist. He was dressed in a gold-trimmed white toga with a purple cloak flowing behind him.

Along with his lightning bolt and his gold breast-plate, he held a glowing mantle, that glittered like it was woven through with filaments of Imperial Gold. He clutched a sceptre made of Imperial Gold in his other hand. Everything about him was imposing and majestic.

Jason could hardly believe he had been sired by such an intimidating god.

Behind him, the other gods were gathered, all of them even-faced, by some sort of ranking system that Jason couldn't quite understand, but guessed had to do with power. It made sense given that Juno was directly behind Jupiter's right shoulder, with his two brothers right beside him and Valeria to the left of the King of the Gods. The others he wasn't sure about.

"Romans!" Jupiter boomed in a deep voice. "You have fought bravely, and proven yourselves as worthy successors to the Heroes of the Ancient Days. Thanks to your noble efforts, Saturn was weakened enough to be destroyed in battle. He was so damaged that it is unlikely he will ever be able to reform again.

Hyperion and Mars have also been defeated, and their essences are trapped in Tartarus along with Typhoeus, the Father of Monsters. Minerva remains at large, but even now our forces are closing in on her location, and we are confident that she will soon join her comrades in Tartarus.

This could not have been achieved without your loyalty, and so we have decided to reward you all. Lady Valeria, the Goddess of Heroes, Bravery, Loyalty and Strength will announce your gifts." With that, he stepped back and gestured the raven-haired goddess forward.

Her face was smooth when she stepped forward, but it broke into a proud smile as she took in the ranks of legionnaires waiting silently for her to speak.

"You have all beyond proven yourselves to us," she began. Her voice was much softer than Jupiter's was, but it too could be heard all over the Camp. "Each and every one of you has shown yourselves to be Brave, Strong and Loyal Heroes." You could hear the capitalization of her domains as she spoke in her steady voice. "And so it has been decided that you have all shown that you deserve to be acknowledged by your godly parents. And that is the Camp's first reward."

The gods began snapping their fingers, and the next few minutes were all spent with every unclaimed demigod being recognized. Jason spotted Lisa Daniels, an eighteen-year-old member of his Cohort who had been at Camp since she was seven without being claimed, look down to hide her tears as the symbol of Ceres appeared above her head.

When it was all over, Valeria began speaking again. "It has come to our attention that you remain without an Augur since the banishment of the Lux family from Camp. As such Lord Apollo has agreed to bless one of his children with the gift of foresight, to take Octavian's place in the position."

The Romans were too disciplined to start whispering to each other at that announcement, but anticipation still filled the air as Apollo stepped forward.

Apollo was an extremely handsome god, as tall and muscular and bronzed as a Baywatch lifeguard, with long golden hair tied back in a bun and gold eyes that shone like the sun. His was wearing a gold toga, and had a beautiful golden bow and a quiver of magical arrows over his shoulders. Finally, there was a laurel wreath resting delicately on his head. He gave a brilliant, blinding smile as he surveyed the Legion.

"Victoria Reynolds!" He called in a voice that, like Jupiter and Valeria's could be heard all over the Camp, but reminded Jason of molten gold. "Come forward!"

Victoria, a member of the Third Cohort who had taken command after one of its' Centurions had been killed and the other maimed in the battle, stood and walked to her father confidently, kneeling in front of him.

"I, Apollo, God of sun, light, healing, disease, music, art, poetry, archery, reason, knowledge and prophecy, hereby bless you, Victoria Reynolds, my daughter, with the power of foresight. May you use it forever in the service of the Gods and Rome."

Light flashed, and when Jason was done blinking the spots away from his eyes, Victoria seemed different. He didn't know how, physically she looked the same. But something about her aura, for lack of another word, was different. She smiled, bowed, and returned to her spot in the ranks. Once again, Jupiter walked to the front of the Gods.

"Finally, there is the matter of the Praetors," he announced. "Both Praetors have been nobly killed in battle, and Pluto assures me that their souls reside in Elysium already. But replacements are needed, and after careful thought, Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter, and Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano have been chosen to fill the spots. Do you accept the positions?"

"I do," they both agreed at the same time.

* * *

"Luke Castellan," Hermes called. "Come forward for your reward."

Luke squeezed her hand, flashed her a strained smile, and went forward to the centre of the throne room, kneeling in place where Grover, Zoe, Tyson and Clarisse had already received their gifts.

"As reward for your services to the Gods," Hermes beamed. "We have decided on two gifts. First, a new and improved cabin will be built for the Hermes' and Unclaimed children. Second, is this." He held out a hand, and a glowing bronze Xiphos-styled sword formed in the air above his hand.

"This sword, which will replace your lost weapon, was forged personally by Hephaestus, and will always return to you, can never be broken and will send any monster it cuts to the very bottom of Tartarus."

"Thank you, my lord," Luke breathed reverently, accepting the gleaming sword that had floated down to him.

"Next, Lena Dare, my daughter," Akantha called, a warm smile lighting her features. "Come here, my love."

Lena, looking exhausted enough to collapse right there in the middle of Olympus, stumbled forward to kneel in front of her mother, who looked lovingly at her only surviving child.

"My beautiful girl," she murmured. "For you, Hades has agreed to allow you the chance to see your brother, and say your goodbyes to him. It will happen after the ceremony is complete."

Lena let out a choked gasp, pressing one hand to her mouth. "Thank you thank you thank you," she blubbered. "Thank you  _so much_. I-"

She dissolved into tears, unable to speak. Connor, whom she had become very close to over the past year, dashed over and helped her back to where the heroes were clustered together. She buried her face in his shoulder to cry silently and he rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Thalia Grace!" Zeus thundered. "Come forth." Pride and smugness for her actions radiated from him as she walked forward, a plan that had started forming in the back of her mind while Chris was dying now at the forefront of her thoughts.

"For you, my daughter, we have decided to grant the most sacred and rare of all rewards," he boomed. "Not since Akantha herself has this gift been offered. To you, we offer the chance to ascend to the rank of a goddess."

For a moment, Thalia forgot her plan and genuinely considered it. Her fatal flaw of power-hunger reared its' head, eager as always to gain  _more._ Then she registered Luke's sharp intake of breath and felt his eyes boring into her back, and snapped back to her senses.

She bowed deeply as she answered. "Thank you, my lord, for the honour that you have offered me. But I have to refuse it."

Silence seemed to echo around the room. When Thalia peeped up, shock and disbelief was covering everyone save for Akantha's faces. Akantha herself just looked a combination of pleased and amused. She gave Thalia a nod of respect when they caught each other's eyes.

"Refuse?" Zeus sputtered. " _Refuse_? What do you mean, you refuse?"

"I don't want to leave my friends," she informed him quietly. "And there's something else I want instead."

"What do you want Thalia?" Akantha asked, seeing as everyone else was still in shock at her answer, (though Hera also looked delighted at the thought of one less of her husband's bastards hanging around her home.)

"I need an oath on the Styx first," Thalia insisted, clenching her jaw stubbornly.

"So be it," Zeus grumbled, giving in to his child's 'request'. "Whatever your request is, we swear upon the Styx to grant it."

"I want all demigods to be guided to Camp and claimed by their thirteenth birthdays," she demanded, barrelling on before anyone could try to interrupt her. "And I want the minor gods to be recognized, and any gods or demigods who sided with the Titans to be forgiven, the deads' souls granted Elysium or at least Asphodel, not Punishment."

"You ask a great deal, Daughter," Zeus narrowed his eyes at her. She caught his gaze with her own identical one, and held it determinedly.

"What I demand may prevent another war like this one, with demigods fighting demigods," she answered in a steely voice. She would  _not_ back down on this. Not with Chris' blood still staining her clothes and the bodies of her friends strewing the streets of New York.

"So be it," Akantha declared after the gods had all exchanged looks. "It will be done." Thunder boomed, sealing the deal.

* * *

_**Three Months Later.** _

The two goddesses materialized silently in Cabin One, stepping forward unseen and unheard to spot the sleeping Daughter of Zeus. Thalia was fast asleep in a hidden alcove, her pixie hair a tangled mess and dressed in nothing but an oversized Camp Half-Blood t-shirt.

"I still don't think that this is the best way to go about doing this," Akantha whispered to her Queen. In her arms, Jason Grace rested, both children oblivious to the presence of their sibling just inches away for the first time in years. "Lord Zeus will be very displeased with us when he learns what we have done."

"I will deal with my husband," Hera replied imperiously. "But this must be done. If Zeus had not erased Thalia and Luke's memories of what they discovered about the Romans, perhaps we could have done it another way, but he did, so this must be done."

"I suppose," Akantha grimaced. "Are the other Seven in position?"

Hera nodded. "Piper McLean and Leo Valdez have been attending the same school, Wilderness Survival School, for several months. Since before the Battles of Manhattan and Othrys. Hazel Levesque has just gained full legionnaire status, and Lupa is sending some of her wolves to escort Frank Zhang to the Wolf House tomorrow morning. Luke Castellan, and my husband's children, will complete the Seven."

"Very well," Akantha agreed reluctantly, lying Jason down carefully. The spell he was under would prevent him waking, but she was gentle anyway. "I will do it," she told her aunt firmly.

Hera's eyes flashed unhappily, but she nodded, knowing that they couldn't afford to argue about the issue. Besides, she wasn't _really_ there. Not properly anyway. She had been captured by Porphyrion's men just a few hours before, and only a small sliver of her essence had escaped the trap. Just enough to ensure that all the pieces were in play to ensure Olympus' survival.

Akantha reached out and placed her two index fingers against the Roman's temples, closing her eyes and reaching into his mind. There, she began to systematically take each memory he had and tuck it away at the very back of his mind, hidden until it was time for them to return. She left the knowledge he would need to survive, such as how to fight, easily accessible. Then she did the same with Thalia, before picking them both up, one in each arm.

She locked eyes with Hera. "May the Fates be with us," she breathed.

"This is Olympus' darkest hour," Juno, for she had changed to her war form while Akantha worked, agreed gravely.


End file.
